Men's Health Clinic | MHC Treatment Privacy Policy

About MHC and this Privacy Statement

MHC Men's Health Clinic (BC 1317300), trading as Men’s Health Clinic (MHC, we, us or our) provides customised and managed solutions for the treatment of men’s sexual health.

MHC is committed to the protection of your personal information.

This privacy policy (this Policy) deals with the way we will collect, use, disclose, store and protect personal information collected from you. This Policy also describes the way in which you may access or correct the personal information we hold about you, and how to contact us if you have any complaints in relation to your privacy.

We will handle your personal information in accordance with applicable privacy and health records laws, including the Privacy Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Personal Health Information Protection Act 2004 and Access to Information Act.

What is ‘personal information’?

This Policy applies to our handling of personal information. ‘Personal information’ means information about an identifiable individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. This includes information whether it is true or not and whether the information is recorded ina material form or not.

Personal information includes 'health information', which is a particular type of personal information. Health information includes identifying health information about you (such as details about your health and medical history, information about any disabilities you have or have had, or the health or disability services you are receiving or have received, information about any donation, testing or examination of a body part or bodily substance), and also includes information about you that is collected before or in the course of, and incidental to, the provision of any health service or disability service to you.

Why do we collect your personal information?

We may collect your personal information where this is necessary for our functions and activities, including provision of men’s health services and other services we provide. In particular, we may collect your personal information:

to provide you with men’s health services and other services;
to provide you with information regarding our services;
to arrange appointments, billing and payment with you for our services; or
to obtain your consent to the above services and activities.

You are not required to disclose your personal information to us. However, if you do not provide the information requested, we may not be able to provide you with appropriate services or treatment, provide you with relevant information regarding our services, or fulfil any other applicable purposes of collection.

How do we collect your personal information?

We will collect your personal information in a lawful and fair way and in a manner that does not intrude to an unreasonable extent on your personal affairs.

We will only collect your personal information and sensitive information where you have consented, or otherwise in accordance with the law.

We will usually collect your personal information directly from you through your interactions with us. This might be through direct communication between you and MHC staff, or your submission of a registration form or other online form using the MHC website, such as when you sign up to our newsletter or purchase a product or service or take part in a quiz. The MHC website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children.

We may occasionally collect personal information about you from a third party where this is permitted by the law. This may include, but is not limited to, collection from the following third parties: other health professionals involved in your treatment, family members or other persons you have authorised to provide your information to us (such as a legal representative or guardian), diagnostic centers and pathology laboratories, specialists, pharmacists and electronic prescription services, Medicare, your private health insurer or other insurer . If you are a job applicant, contractor or service provider, we may collect your personal information from your referees and through required screening checks such as a police check.

Where this is permitted by law, we may also collect technical information related to your interaction with the MHC website (such as internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, operating system and platform, and other technology) from the following parties: analytics providers such as Google; advertising networks; and search information providers.

When we collect your personal information, we will as soon as is practicable take reasonable steps to notify you of the details of the collection (including notifying you through this Policy), such as the purposes for which the information was collected, the organisations (if any) to which the information will be disclosed, and also notify you that this Policy contains details on how you may access or correct your information, or raise any complaints.

What types of personal information do we usually collect?

We may collect personal information (including health information) such as:

your name, date of birth, gender, postal address, email address and telephone numbers;
your health and medical history, lifestyle history, family history, marital status, next of kin and other relatives;
your occupation and employment details, religion, country of birth, indigenous status and racial or ethnic origin;
your private health fund and private health insurance cover details if applicable;
your ACC or other insurance claim details if applicable;
notes of your symptoms or diagnosis and the treatment given to you;
your medical reports and test results;
your prescriptions and other pharmaceutical purchases;
your appointment and payment and billing details, such as credit card details;
details of products and services you have purchased from us, and your interests and preferences gathered from your feedback and survey responses; and
your preferences in receiving marketing from us and/or third parties and your communication preferences.

We may collect personal information from individuals who are not patients of MHC, such as service providers or contractors, to enable us to work or transact with them. This may include personal information provided through job applications and résumés, proposals and contracts.

How do we use your personal information?

If you are a patient of MHC, we generally use your personal information for the following main purposes:

to communicate with you in relation to the men’s health service being provided to you, and to assess and understand your health and requirements to provide you with appropriate services and advice;
to respond appropriately to any enquiries or complaints you may make;
to contact you in relation to your health care, or in an emergency, or for your authorisation in relation to any services;
to verify your identity;
to help us manage our accounts and administrative services, including payment and billing, and arrangements with Medicare, private health funds and other insurers;
to obtain, analyse and discuss test results from pathology laboratories;
to provide prescriptions where appropriate;
to request your participation research;
where you have consented, to communicate with you about our services, events, or promotions that may be relevant to you;
if you are a job applicant, contractor or service provider, to (as applicable) assess your job application, proposal or contract, contact your referees, and facilitate and assess any screening checks (such as a police check), and also to manage our relationship with you;
to undertake accreditation, quality and safety assurance and clinical audit activities;
to de-identify the information (that is, by removing all your identifying personal information) in order to produced de-identified statistical or demographic information.

We may also use your personal information for purposes which are directly related to these main purposes, in circumstances where you would reasonably expect us to use your information for these purposes.

We may also use your personal information for purposes which are permitted under the applicable privacy laws, which may include the following:

for management, planning or evaluation of our services, where we take all reasonable steps to de-identify any materials used; and
for training and educating our own staff, where we take all reasonable steps to de-identify any materials used.

We will not use your personal information for other purposes unless you have consented, or we are otherwise permitted or required to do so by law.

Do we disclose your personal information to others?

We respect the privacy of your personal information and we will take reasonable steps to keep it confidential and protected.

We will not disclose your personal information to any third parties unless you have consented, or we are otherwise permitted or required to do so by law.

We may disclose your personal information to persons outside of MHC, such as:

other health service providers where this is necessary for your ongoing care and support and/or further treatment options;
pharmacists involved in providing your prescribed medication (if applicable); or
your private health insurer or other insurers in relation to the services you are provided with under your insurance policy.

We will only disclose your personal information without your consent where we are authorised or required to do so under law, such as: where we reasonably believe this is necessary to prevent or lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to public health or safety; or where this is necessary to avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law by any public sector agency or for the conduct of proceedings before any court (being proceedings that have commenced or are reasonably in contemplation).

Will we transfer your personal information outside of Canada?

We comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Personal Health Information Protection Act 2004 and Access to Information Act when disclosing personal information outside of Canada.

We will only disclose your personal information outside of Canada if:

We will in all cases take reasonable steps to ensure that any such recipient of your personal information does not breach the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act rules.

We may disclose your personal information to our Performance Manager staff located in the Philippines, so they can provide you with assistance throughout the term of your treatment, including checking in with you every month to monitor your performance and general well-being, the results of which are then fed back to your MHC doctor. We may also disclose your personal information to our marketing team members located in the United Kingdom, India and the United Arab Emirates, where this is in accordance with your communication preferences. These disclosures will only be to the minimum extent necessary for these purposes, and these overseas staff members will handle your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Personal Health Information Protection Act 2004 rules. You consent to us disclosing this personal information to our overseas staff members for these purposes.

Direct marketing

If MHC intends to engage in any other marketing communications, we may send you such communications in accordance with any previous consent you have provided or any marketing communication preferences that you have notified to us, or as otherwise permitted under the Privacy Act and the Canada Anti-Spam Legislation.

If you have previously agreed to receive such marketing communications, but no longer wish to receive such marketing communications you can contact us using the contact details below to modify your preferences, or you can simply opt-out of such communications using the instructions or opt-out link provided in the marketing communication sent to you.

We will obtain your express opt-in consent before we share your personal information with any third party for marketing purposes. You can request such third parties to stop sending you marketing communications using the instructions or opt-out link provided in the marketing communication sent to you by the third party.

Revoking your consent

You may revoke your consent to any particular uses or disclosures of your personal information at any time. You may notify us of any revocation using our contact details listed below, or by notifying the MHC staff member you are receiving services from.

How do we hold and protect your personal information?

We will protect your privacy and the security of your personal information by taking steps to ensure that your personal information is protected against misuse, interference and loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

We also use a variety of physical and technological security measures to protect the personal information we hold.

We may hold your personal information in a number of ways including electronically and in physical format.

All records will be kept in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Privacy Act and the Personal Health Information Protection Act 2004 and applicable electronics transactions legislation.

We will not hold your information any longer than is required for the purposes for which it may be used or is required by law. When your personal information is no longer required to be retained under law (and in the case of your health information, the information has been retained for the required periods under the Regulationswe will take steps to securely destroy the information or to ensure that the information is permanently de-identified.

Quality of the personal information we hold

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, up-to-date, complete, and relevant to our functions and activities. You can assist us in keeping your personal information accurate by informing us of any updates to your personal information using our contact details below.

Data breaches

We are required to comply with mandatory obligation under the Personal Health Information Protection Act 2004. The applies when an 'notifiable privacy breach' of personal information occurs.

A 'notifiable privacy breach' occurs when:

there is unauthorised access to or unauthorised disclosure or alteration of personal information, or a loss or destruction of personal information, thatn an organisation holds; and
it is reasonable to believe it has caused serious harm to an affected individual or individuals or is likely to do so.

If we have reasonable grounds to believe that we have experienced a notifiable privacy breach, we will promptly notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals about the breach inaccordance with the Personal Health Information Protection Act 2004 and Privacy Act.

Can you access and correct your personal information?

You may request to access the personal information that we hold about you using our contact details below.

In certain circumstances, we may refuse to allow you access to your personal information where this is authorised by the law, such as where: providing access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals; or providing access would pose a serious threat your life or health; or providing access would be unlawful.

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, up-to-date and complete, relevant and not misleading.

If you believe that the personal information we hold about you requires correction, you may request that the information be corrected using our contact details below.

If we refuse your request for access or correction, we will provide you with reasons for the refusal in writing, and details about how you may seek review of our decision.

De-identified information

Information where we have removed any material that would reasonably identify you or any other person (‘de-identified information’), is not personal information.

We may collect, use and disclose aggregated de-identified information such as statistical or demographic information for any purpose, such as for management, planning or evaluation of our services. For example, this information may be used to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific service provided by MHC.

However, if we ever were to combine or connect such de-identified information with your personal information so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we will treat the combined information as personal information which we will handle in accordance with this Policy.

Privacy related questions and complaints

We respect your privacy and we take all complaints and concerns regarding privacy very seriously.

If you have any questions about privacy-related issues or wish to complain about a breach of your privacy or the handling of your personal information by us, you may lodge your question or complaint in writing to MHC by using the contact details below. We will respond to you as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days from receipt of your question or complaint.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may wish to contact:

Privacy Commissioner of Canada or Privacy Comissioner of Ontario. Or see here https://www.oipc.bc.ca/about/contact-us/

Our contact details

If you would like to contact us regarding any privacy matters, including where:

you would like to request access to or correction of your personal information;
you have a complaint or concern regarding your privacy; or
you would like further information about this Policy,

please contact us using the following details:

Email address: info@menshealthclinic.ca (attention: Privacy Officer); or
Telephone number: +1 (800) 422 8149

Updates to this Policy

We may revise this Policy from time to time. We will update you on any changes to this Policy through our website at www.menshealthclinic.com/ca, and we will make the most current version of the Policy available when you receive services from us, or on your request.