Dianne M. Taylor & Associates Inc. (DTA) recognizes the importance of your personal privacy and the sensitivity of your personal information. As health care practitioners we have a professional obligation to keep confidential all information we receive. We are committed to protecting any personal information we hold. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy.

Your Privacy Rights

Beginning on January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, (“the Act”) and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, which it incorporates. The Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information. The Act makes DTA responsible for the personal information we collect and hold. To ensure this accountability, we have developed this policy, and trained our associates and support staff about our policies and practices.

Why Does DTA Need Personal Information?

DTA provides consultation services to a wide range of clients. In doing so, it requires personal information in order to fulfill its professional responsibilities. As well, it occasionally produces and distributes materials concerning its services.

What Personal Information Do We Collect and How Do We Collect It?

DTA collects personal information relevant to our clients. According to the Act, Personal information is defined as follows:

“personal information” means information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.

The information we collect may go beyond contact information and include financial or medical information (as an example) depending on the nature of the matter under investigation.

If we did not collect and use personal information, we would not be able to provide our services. We collect information only by lawful and fair means and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources, for example:

• Your insurance company;
• Your legal counsel;
• Hospital records;
• From a government agency or registry;
• Your employer;
• Other professionals, like a doctor or member of the treatment team

Consent

In most cases, we ask you to consent, if we collect, use, or disclose your personal information.

Use of Your Information

We use your personal information to provide our services, to fulfill our own professional responsibilities. DTA does not disclose personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services. For example, we do not provide our client mailing lists to others.

DTA will retain personal information as long as may be necessary to fulfill our own professional responsibilities and satisfy the requirements of the respective health care practitioner Colleges.

Disclosure of Your Personal Information

Under certain circumstances DTA will disclose personal information, including:

• When we are required or authorized by law to do so
• When you have consented to the disclosure, expressly or by implication or its disclosure is necessary.
• Where it is necessary to establish or collect fees
• If we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (like computer back-up services or archival file storage, or our auditors) and the third party is bound by our privacy policy.
• If the information is already publicly known.

Updating Your Information

Since we use personal information to provide consultation services, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date. If any of your information changes while our file is active, please inform us so that we can make any necessary changes. If DTA holds information about you and you can establish that it is not accurate, complete and up-to-date, DTA will take reasonable steps to correct it.

Is Personal Information Secure?

DTA takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect information are:

• Premises security
• Restricted file access to electronic personal information
• Deploying technological safeguards like password protection, security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access
• Internal password and security policies
• Procedures for the destruction of personal information when it is no longer required including shredding and the formatting of electronic media.

Access to Your Personal Information

You may ask for access to any personal information we hold about you. However, we may ask that we be reimbursed for the time and cost to us of such access at our normal rates.

Can I Be Denied Access to My Personal Information?

Rights to access your personal information are not absolute. We may deny access when:

• denial of access is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is subject to a claim of legal professional privilege).
• information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings
• when granting you access would have an unreasonable impact on other people’s privacy
• to protect our firm’s rights and property
• where the request is frivolous or vexatious

If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why.

DTA does not use your Social Insurance Number as a way of identifying or organizing the information we hold.

Communicating With Us

You should be aware that e-mail is not a 100% secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

Since DTA regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures, we may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on our web site.

Requests For Access

If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please write to our Privacy Contact at:

Andrea Clark-Groden, Director
Dianne M. Taylor & Associates Inc.
P.O. Box 65099, RPO Chester
Toronto, ON M4K 3Z2
416-690-1188 x 5

Andrea.groden@dmtaylor1.com

If you are not satisfied with our response, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada can be reached at:

112 Kent Street,
Ottawa Ontario, K1A 1H3
1-800-282-1376

Web Site

On our website, like most other commercial websites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize our web service. We may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information.