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CPhA Takes Action: Privacy Legislation - Impact on Pharmacists
CPhA is working to ensure that changes to privacy legislation do not negatively impact pharmacists or the care they provide to their patients. CPhA strongly supports the need to improve the sharing of information, with appropriate measures in place to ensure confidentiality and security.
Portions of the new federal privacy legislation, the Personal Information and Protection Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), came into force on January 1, 2002.
See CPhA's Notice to Pharmacists (December 2001) for more detail on privacy issues in Canada. The legal opinion we obtained confirmed our assessment that on-line claims processing will not be affected by PIPEDA as of January 1, 2002.
Meetings with Industry and Health Ministers and Ministries, the Chair of the Senate Health Committee and the Federal Privacy Commissioner enabled CPhA to get the concerns of pharmacists across to decision-makers. Our message is that an appropriate balance must be struck between privacy protection and the efficient provision of health services. The ability to conduct health research must not be impeded and additional cost burdens must not be created for providers.
CPhA is a member of the G6 (Group of Six) Privacy Working Group, which includes the Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Nurses Association, Canadian Dental Association, Canadian Healthcare Association and the Consumers' Association of Canada. CPhA acted as the Secretariat for the Privacy Working Group which developed principles for privacy protection and issued a report to Health Canada.
In October 2001, the Federal Privacy Commissioner ruled on the sale of prescriber identity, in which he found that prescription information is not personal information about the physician.
CPhA has made other submissions to government committees on privacy:
Russell Milon, Director of Government Affairs is contact for further information
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