We take our responsibility to securing data and protecting patient confidentiality very seriously.
We are a custodian of health information and adhere to privacy laws that ensure the data we collect is protected and remains confidential.
What is a custodian of health information?
A custodian is an organization or entity defined in section 1(1)(f) of Alberta’s Health Information Act (HIA). The HIA designates “custodians” who are ultimately responsible for ensuring health information is collected, used, and disclosed appropriately under the parameters of the legislation.
Along with Health Quality Alberta, other custodians of health information include entities like Alberta’s provincial health agencies and their responsible Ministries, continuing care homes, ambulance operators, and health service providers licensed in Alberta, such as primary care providers and pharmacists. The HIA permits the disclosure of health information from one custodian to another for specified purposes set out in the HIA, subject to mandatory privacy and security safeguards. For example, the information we collect often comes from another HIA custodian. After analyzing it, we will share back our findings in non-identifying format with healthcare delivery organizations and healthcare policymakers to inform quality improvement.
Other data governance responsibilities
As a public body, we also adhere to the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA). Under these laws, along with the HIA, the health and personal information we collect is strictly protected and confidential. A patient’s or family member’s responses to a Health Quality Alberta survey or engagement as well as any contact details such as email addresses will never be shared or reported.
We acknowledge that First Nations, Métis, and Inuit groups have additional data rights, sovereignty, and ethics – and Health Quality Alberta will engage with these groups accordingly.
Our health information commitments
- Securely storing health information in databases that adhere to security and technical best practices.
- Encrypting patient information with industry standard encryption algorithms and strength.
- Physically storing health information in databases in a secure location, accessible only to approved personnel on a strictly controlled basis.
- Reporting results from our surveys in aggregate. “In aggregate” means these responses are combined with other survey responses from people who received healthcare in Alberta and participated in our surveys. Nothing shared with us in surveys can be linked to individual patients directly when reported publicly on websites such as FOCUS on Healthcare.
Questions
If you have questions about how Health Quality Alberta manages data, email info@hqa.ca.