BayToday reports that changes approved yesterday to Ontario’s health privacy law (HIPA) will strengthen patient protections:
The Act will amend existing legislation to protect the personal health information of patients, including:
- Making it mandatory to report privacy breaches, as defined in regulation, to the Information and Privacy Commissioner and, in certain circumstances, to relevant regulatory colleges
- Strengthening the process to prosecute offences under the Personal Health Information Protection Act by removing the requirement that prosecutions must be commenced within six months of when the alleged offence occurred
- Doubling the maximum fines for privacy offences from $50,000 to $100,000 for individuals and from $250,000 to $500,000 for organizations.
Read more on BayArea.ca.