In December 2000, the Ontario government introduced legislation to strengthen protection for the confidentiality, privacy and security of personal health information. The legislation was the first of its kind for Ontario - proposing new health sector rules that would ensure effective protections are in place when health information is shared to provide better care to patients.

The privacy legislation is intended to :

• Protect the confidentiality, privacy and security of Ontarians' personal health information;
• Improve quality of care for patients;
• Provide health care practitioners with the right information at the right time;
• Provide a framework that supports broader health care reforms that will modernize Ontario's health care system such as Smart Systems for Health;
• Balance the need to share information in the health sector while protecting individuals' health information privacy;
• Achieve better health system integration;
• Enable improved health system management, performance measurement, and fraud prevention; and,
• Maximize the benefits of new health technologies.

The following is an electronic version of the Personal Health Information Privacy Act, 2000 as introduced by the Honourable Elizabeth Witmer, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, for First Reading on December 7, 2000.

This posting is prepared for purposes of convenience only. For accurate reference recourse should be made to the official record of the Legislative Assembly (Hansard).

COMPENDIUM Compendium 10 pages | 38 k | PDF format

ACT Bill 159 - The Personal Health Information Privacy Act 99 pages | 216 k | PDF format

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Summer 2001