Privacy Protection

As stewards of British Columbians’ personal health information, the Ministry of Health takes its responsibility for privacy protection very seriously. The ministry has value-based, ethical and legal obligations regarding the handling of the personal health information in its control and/or custody.  The Ministry of Health continues to increase the privacy and security landscape while providing increased access to integrated health data in British Columbia.

When collecting, using, disclosing, accessing or sharing personal health information, the ministry and its staff are governed by legislation, including the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; corporate government information management policies; and professional codes of ethics and standards of practice for all public service employees, including the Public Service Oath Regulation and Standards of Conduct (PDF, 448KB). The ministry’s information management policies are based on the corporate government policies and standards of the Office of the Chief Information Officer of the Province of British Columbia.

Assuring individuals their information will be kept confidential is essential to the establishment of a trust-based relationship between the Ministry of Health and British Columbians. Accordingly, the Ministry of Health is committed to ensuring individual privacy rights are respected.

If you have questions or concerns regarding personal health information privacy protection at the Ministry of Health, please contact the Digital Policy, Security and Privacy branch via email at HealthInformationPrivacy@gov.bc.ca.