Privacy
The Ministry of Health is committed to respecting personal privacy, safeguarding confidential information and ensuring the security of personal health information within our custody or control for the Ontario Health Data Platform.
The Ministry of Health has obligations as the health information custodian for the Ontario Health Data Platform.
The Ontario Health Data Platform is a secure, privacy-protected, high performance computing environment to perform health-related COVID-19 research and analytics. The data collected originates from Ontario’s publicly funded health care system and includes information extracted from Ontario’s health care system, such as:
- clinical information systems and registries, genomics, public health, hospital, laboratory, and diagnostic imaging information system;
- hospital discharge summaries and emergency department visits;
- physician claims submitted to the Ontario Health Insurance Plan;
- medical drug claims submitted to the Ontario Drug Benefit Program; and
- claims submitted for home care and long-term care.
The Ministry of Health collects the personal health information from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and Ontario Health (OH) as permitted under Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004.
The Ministry of Health uses and discloses the personal health information collected through the Ontario Health Data Platform for researching, analyzing, investigating, preventing, responding to or alleviating COVID-19 or its effects; evaluating or monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the management of, the allocation of resources to or planning for all or part of the health system.
Statement of Information Practices for the Ontario Health Data Platform, click here.
Privacy and Security Governance Structure
The Privacy Program is under the direction of a Privacy Officer with reporting requirements to the Minister of Health through the Director, Information Management Strategy and Policy Branch, Digital Health Division, Ministry of Health.
Contact the Privacy Officer
Contact us if you need information or have privacy concerns about the Ontario Health Data Platform’s data holdings, information practices or privacy program:
- Attention: Research Legal Services
78 Fifth Field Company Lane
Fleming Hall - Jemmett Wing, 3rd Floor
Kingston, ON K7L3N6
Email: researchlegal@queensu.ca
Email: privacy@ohdp.ca
Contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
You have the right to submit any concern or complaint about the information practices for the Ontario Health Data Platform by contacting:
- Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8
Email: info@ipc.ca
Phone: 416-326-3333 or 1-800-387-0073
TDD/TTY: 416-325-7539
Website: www.ipc.on.ca
More Information on Privacy
Privacy Policy
Datasets
Frequently Asked Questions - Privacy
Minister's Letters
- Minister’s Letter to Ontario Health (2020-12-18)
- Minister’s Letter to Ontario Health (2021-04-30)
- Minister's Letter to Ontario Health (2023-01-13)