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Why Do You Need the Guidelines?

Purchase the 2011 Guidelines!

2011 Privacy Guidelines

The Guidelines for the Protection of Health Information describes key security and privacy issues faced by healthcare organizations and offers guidance in responding to these issues. The Guidelines is not an all-encompassing guide on the protection of personal health information (PHI); rather, it is designed as a stepping stone to help healthcare organizations address common concerns, avoid confusion, and prevent misunderstandings. In concert with applicable privacy legislation, security standards, and information protection best practices, the Guidelines document forms part of a privacy and security framework designed to support the protection of PHI.

Take a Closer Look

pdf.gif 2011 Guidelines Preface

pdf.gif 2011 Guidelines Table of Contents

Privacy & Security Fact Sheet (PDF)

"Privacy? Security? How Can I Possibly Keep Up with all of These Demands?" (COACH Journal, May 2009)

The major objectives of the Guidelines are to:

  • Educate healthcare professionals/organizations in understanding the privacy rights of their subjects of care;
  • Assist healthcare professionals/organizations in minimizing the risk of unauthorized collection, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction of personal health information;
  • Assist healthcare professionals/organizations in maximizing the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of personal health information, and the efficacy of administering authorized access; and
  • Assist healthcare professionals/organizations in designing and implementing programs to protect the privacy of personal health information.

Acknowledgements
COACH thanks the following volunteers and staff who contributed to the 2011 Guidelines...This project would not have been possible without them!

Privacy & Security Expert Group

Other Contributors

Elaine Sawtsky (Chair)
Elizabeth Bodnar
Patrick Ceresia, MD
Trevor Cook, CPHIMS-CA
Nick Giesinger, MBA
Brenda Hudey, BA, BHJ
Dawn Lake
Patrick Lo, CISSP
Greg Lypowy, MHI
David Morgan, PhD, CIPP/C
Geoffrey Pille, CPHIMS-CA
Gerald Regier
Heather Tabin

H. Martin Kyle, CISSP CSSLP GISP
Jay Lambert, CPHIMS-CA
Jason Lin, MEng, Security+, CPHIMS-CA
John Schinbein, MA, CPHIMS-CA 

 



 

Special thanks to Elaine Sawatsky, Expert Group Chair, for her passion, leadership, and coordination of the contributors, and many changes to the Guidelines. COACH would like to also thank:

  • Ruth Wilson, of West Coast Editorial Associates, for pulling the contributions together and ensuring we spoke with a unified voice.
  • Alex Hennig, for preparing Guidelines for publication as a user-friendly electronic product.
  • COACH National Office staff, including Raman Mundi and Serina Nghiem, Coordinator, Programs, and Alison Gardner, Director, Programs. 
  • COACH Privacy and Security Steering Committee members, for providing guidance and leadership.
  • Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador Ministries of Health for their ongoing support and jurisdiction-wide use of the Guidelines.