308-125 East 13th Street
North Vancouver
Tel: 604-987-5291
Call for an appointment today!
Web Site: www.nsosc.com
Email: info@nsosc.com
“Note how good you feel after you have encouraged someone else. No other argument is necessary to suggest that never miss the opportunity to give encouragement.”
(George Burton Adams)
Maintaining the privacy of your personal information is critical to North
Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic. We understand the need to safeguard the
personal information you have en-trusted to us. Therefore we have
incorporated principles designed to protect your privacy & prevent misuse of
your personal information. We commit to collecting, using & disclosing your
personal information responsibly, always maintaining open & transparent
communication in order to optimally serve and administer your physical
wellness. We will not sell, rent or divulge your personally identifiable
information, in any format, to third parties.
WHAT IS PERSONAL INFORMATION?
Personal information refers to any “information about an identifiable
individual”, including:
1. an individual’s personal characteristics (e.g., name, gender, age,
income, home address or phone number, ethnic background, employment status,
marital status, family status);
2. an individual’s health (e.g. health history, health conditions, health
services received by them);
3. an individual’s activities & views (e.g., religion, politics, opinions
expressed by an individual, an opinion or evaluation of an individual).
Personal information is separate from business information (e.g. an
individual’s business address and telephone number), which is not protected
by privacy legislation. Our privacy policy applies only to personal clients.
This policy does not include individuals carrying on incorporated businesses
alone or in partnership with other individuals. The following sections
answer many of your questions regarding how we gather, protect & use
personal information & how we will hold ourselves accountable to you.
WHO WE ARE
North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic is a multi-disciplinary
physiotherapy clinic. We maintain a database of personal information, only
to the extent necessary to administer your physical health and wellness
needs. This personal information includes maintaining your:
1. Name
2. address,
3. Contact home telephone number and business telephone number,
4. e-mail address,
5. occupational history, including occupational demands
6. health history including , medical coverage, treatments &
7. other relevant information of interest to our business.
We do work with consultants, other businesses and agencies that may, in the
course of their duties, require limited access to your stored personal
information. This may include your payment records, mailing addresses to
mail out promotional or accounting information, and specific health
information which may be requested by government or third party payers. We
will restrict access to your personal information as reasonably as possible.
We also have third party assurances that they also follow appropriate
privacy principles.
PRIMARY PURPOSE: COLLECTING & USING PERSONAL INFORMATION
We will explain how we intend to use your personal information prior to, or
while collecting it. It will be used only for those purposes which we have
explained to you. We will obtain your consent to utilize your personal
information for any other purpose(s). The primary purposes for collecting
your personal information might include:
1. to verify eligibility for MSP, ICBC & WCB,
2. information about your transactions with us such as account balances &
payment history
3. information about your rehabilitation progress for third-party payers
4. to maintain your records of treatment,
5. information to contact, correspond with & respond to your inquiries or
requests,
6. to communication with you regarding our services &
7. to permit newsletter & informational communication regarding physical
wellness needs.
8. tabulating information that is of relevant interest to our business such
as how our clients are responding to treatment or tracking patterns of
specific types of injury profiles.
We collect this information to serve you better. Examples of the type of
personal information we collect for those purposes are outlined in the
section, “WHO WE ARE.”
DISCLOSING PERSONAL INFORMATION TO OTHERS:
North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic stores and processes your personal
information in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. We maintain security standards and
procedures to prevent unauthorized access to your confidential, personal
information. Our security standards and procedures are updated and tested
from regularly to improve the protection of and to assure the integrity of
your personal information.
We educate our employees about the importance of confidentiality and
customer privacy through standard operating procedures and our internal
policies. We take appropriate measures to enforce employee privacy
responsibilities.
Each of our suppliers and agents, as part of their contract with us, are
“bound” to protect your privacy. Your personally identifiable information is
to remain confidential and may not be used for any unauthorized purpose.
When we respond to a legal request or regulatory body inquiry, we ensure the
validity of each specific order. If considered valid, we then disclose only
the requested information. Otherwise we will seek your verbal and written
consent prior to disclosing your personally identifiable information.
We may provide your personal information to other persons not affiliated
with North Shore Orthopaedic, such as regulators, service providers or
credit reporting agencies. Confidential personal information is only
provided wherein we have your written consent or where the law requires our
cooperation.
PROTECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION:
North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic does not sell client lists or your
personally identifiable information to third parties outside our affiliated
companies, unless you request or authorize it. The information is provided
in order to complete a transaction you have initiated. Under these
circumstances the disclosure is lawfully permitted or required. Sometimes it
is necessary to provide your personal information to a third party outside
our affiliated companies, such as to an “outside” vendor or service company
hired to do our data processing or prepare your account statements. These
vendors & service companies agree to safeguard your personally identifiable
information & must abide by applicable law. To protect your personally
identifiable information we have taken the following steps:
Paper documents are always under supervision or secured in a locked or
restricted area. Electronic hardware is always under supervision or secured in a locked or
restricted area. Additionally, passwords are used on all computers. Paper documents are transmitted through sealed, addressed envelopes or
boxes by reputable companies. Staff are trained to collect, use and disclose personal information only
as necessary to fulfill their duties and in accordance with our privacy
policy. External consultants and agencies with access to our personally
identifiable information must enter into privacy agreements with us.
It is always your choice whether to provide personal information. Also, you
are free to refuse consent or withdraw your consent to collect, use or
release your personally identifiable information. North Shore Orthopaedic &
Sports Clinic will explain your options to refuse or withdraw your consent.
We will document, & do respect, your choice to withdraw consent. To discuss
your options, in further detail, please contact our designated privacy
officer.
CUSTOMER SERVICE CORRESPONDENCE
If you send us documented correspondence, including e-mails, faxes and
third-party communications, we will retain this information as part of your
clinical record. Customer service opinions are critical to us, therefore we
will also retain customer service correspondence in your clinical record. We
retain this documented correspondence in order to:
1. measure & improve upon our customer service, &
2. to investigate potential fraud or other violations of our User Agreement.
We may, over time, delete these records. Under the laws of British Columbia,
we are obligated to safely maintain access to your clinical records for a
period of seven (7) calendar years. We will protect your personal
information with appropriate safeguards and security measures.
QUESTIONAIRRES, SURVEYS AND PROFILE DATA: Occasionally, we offer optional
questionnaires / surveys to our clients to assess clients' needs, wants and
interests. We will thoroughly explain, in detail within the survey itself,
the purpose for collecting this personally identifiable information & how
this information will be used. You are under no obligation to participate in
these optional questionnaires / surveys.
RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We retain your personal information for seven years. During this time third
parties, as indicated in #1 of the section “WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION:
PRIMARY PURPOSES” may request access to specified, personally identifiable,
client information. Your information is only released when we receive your
authorization, to ensure that we can answer questions about the services
provided. We assuredly comply with these College of Physical Therapists of
British Columbia regulations so as to ensure accountability to our external
regulatory body. Following the designated seven years, we have procedures to
shred and discard, delete, erase or convert your personally identifiable
client information to an anonymous form. We retain your personal information
only as long as required to fulfill our stated reasons for which it was
collected, or for as long as it is legally necessary for us to have
sufficient information to respond to issues that may arise in the future.
YOU CAN LOOK AT YOUR INFORMATION
Access and Accuracy: With only a few exceptions, you, the client reserves
the right to see what personal information is on record with North Shore
Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic. We will provide you with reasonable access to
your personal information and information about North Shore Orthopaedic’s
use and disclosure of that information. We will make every reasonable effort
to keep your personal information accurate and up-to-date. In order to
confirm your identity, we may ask you to put your request in writing before
providing you with this access. You may access your personal information on
record with North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic and information about
North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic’s use and disclosure of that
information by contacting Sandy Benoit, the office manager. We will assist
you by identifying your personal records. We will also assist you by
translating “difficult to understand” information (e.g., short forms,
technical language, etc). Please note that we may not be able to provide
information about you from our records if:
a) it contains references to other persons,
b) it is subject to legal privilege,
c) it contains information proprietary to North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports
Clinic,
d) it is too costly to retrieve,
e) or cannot be disclosed for other legal reasons.
If we must deny you access to review your personal records, we will promptly
inform you. We will also provide explanation why we are unable to comply
with your request to review your personal records. Also, we do not maintain
disclosure records for regular or routine actions. If you have questions
regarding decisions made about you, we will explain the rationale.
Accountability and Openness to your Privacy Concerns:
We hold ourselves accountable to you. We will investigate and respond to
your concerns pertaining to all aspects of how we handle your personal
information. We will explain the application of our privacy policy to your
personal information and explain your options to refusing or withdraw
consent to the collection, use & release of your personal information. We
will also document your choices.
If you identify an error in the content, you have the right to request that
it be corrected. This applies to factual information only and not to our
documented, professional opinions. We may ask you to provide written
notification that our personal file or record is in error. If we are
mutually in agreement with you regarding the error, we will make the
appropriate written correction(s). Also, where appropriate, we will notify
third party individual(s) to whom this information was sent. If we disagree
with you regarding your claim that we have made an error, we will briefly
document the details in your record. Also, where appropriate, we will notify
third party individual(s) to whom your information was sent. This will be in
the form of a signed, written statement that the earlier information is in
dispute.
NORTH SHORE ORTHOPAEDIC & SPORTS CLINIC Web Site Policy
Identifiable information: By using North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic’s
web site, you, verify your consent to permit us to collect, use and disclose
your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy (indicated
in the section “WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION: PRIMARY PURPOSES”). If you
disagree with our policy you may elect to bypass areas on the website that
make request for your “membership” information.
Non-identifiable information: The North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic’s
web site automatically collects certain non-identifiable information
regarding web site users, such as:
1. the internet protocol (IP)address of your computer,
2. the IP address of your service provider,
3. the date and time you access the web site,
4. the internet address of the web site from which you linked directly to
our web site,
5. the operating system you are using, the sections of the web site you
visit, the web site pages read and images viewed, and
6. the content you download from the web site.
North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic uses this non-identifiable
information for web site and system administration purposes and to improve
our web site. North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic may disclose this
non-identifiable information to service providers for system administration
purposes and archive it for future use.
We share your concern regarding your privacy within the Internet world and
commit to it’s protection. The principles set out in this privacy policy
apply equally to anything you might do at our Web site.
Cookies
The North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic web site uses “cookies,” (a
simple HTTP text-only string of data) a technology that installs information
on a web site user’s computer to permit the web site to recognize future
visits using that computer. Cookies improve the services provided to you and
enhance the convenience of your web site experience by making it easier and
faster to access this web site and its services. Cookies don’t identify you
personally, but identify your computer when you visit our site. You may
choose to decline cookies if your browser permits you to turn them off but
doing so may affect your ability to use certain features of our web site.
Some pages on this web site may require a cookie for access. When entering
this web site, a cookie may be stored on your hard drive containing a
random, unique user I.D. number. These cookies establish a user session &
allow our server to correctly provide site users with the appropriate frames
& content. This is used to track how you entered our web site & your traffic
patterns or “click-stream” on this web site. These cookies are anonymous &
don’t reveal your personal identity. They won’t:
a) follow you throughout your travels on the web, nor
b) capture private data.
You be asked to provide certain personal information as part of an
application for use of one of our Web site services, such as access to our
Client Centre or Research Reports. If, as part of such application, North
Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic requests that you transmit confidential
information to us over the Internet, we ensure that your transmission is
encrypted. When you use one of our Web site services we may compile your
user profile for that service (e.g., name, address, account numbers, logon
I.D., etc.). Each time you use these services, we collect your logon I.D.,
information about the pages of North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic’s Web
site that you visit while using the service. We use your profile to respond
to your inquiries. We use your logon I.D. to identify you as a user of the
service. We use this transaction information in the aggregate to assess and
improve the service. We may also use the profile information you provide so
that we can inform you of other North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic
products and services. You can contribute to the confidentiality of your
personally identifiable information when using the North Shore Orthopaedic &
Sports Clinic Web site by not disclosing your designated username and
password to anyone.
When you send us an e-mail requesting e-mail response, we learn your exact
e-mail address & any information you have included in the e-mail. We use
your e-mail address to acknowledge your comments and / or reply to your
questions. We will store your communication and our reply for future
correspondence. We will not sell your e-mail address to anyone. We may use
your e-mail address to send you information concerning our products or
services that we believe will interest you. If you don’t want us to contact
you with information by e-mail, you may tell us so at any time. Remember,
e-mail over the Internet is generally unencrypted. We recommend that you do
not send us sensitive or confidential information by ordinary e-mail, as
unencrypted e-mail is generally not secure.
Our Web site may contain links to other Web sites. When you click on one of
those links, you are contacting another Web site over which North Shore
Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic has no responsibility & no control.
Declining Communications
If you wish to decline the information North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports
Clinic sends via e-mail, you may do so at any time by contacting John
McCordic, at info@nsosc.com
Securing Your Information
North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic employs security safeguards to help
protect the confidentiality of all personally identifiable information.
Nevertheless due to the Internet and Internet technologies, security and
privacy risks are beyond our immediate control. Therefore, we are unable to
guarantee that your personally identifiable information will not be
disclosed in ways not otherwise described in this policy.
Third Party Vendors/Other Web Sites
Our web site contains links to other web sites or Internet resources. When
you click on a link you are contacting another web site or Internet
resource. North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic has no responsibility or
liability for control over these other web sites or Internet resources or
their collection, use and disclosure of your personally identifiable
information.
Privacy Policy Changes
This Privacy Policy may be occasionally updated & possibly without prior
notice or liability to you, or others. You therefore authorize North Shore
Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic, to collect, use & disclose your personally
identifiable information as governed by the most current version of the
privacy policy. New, updated versions are posted on North Shore Orthopaedic
& Sports Clinic’s web site. Continued use of our web site antecedent to any
privacy policy changes signifies your consent permitting North Shore
Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic to collect, use and disclose your personal
information as governed by the most current version of the privacy policy.
Accordingly, North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic recommends that you
regularly review the most current version of the privacy policy.
ANY QUESTIONS OR Concerns?
Contact John McCordic at (604) 987-5291 or info@nsosc.com to address any
questions or concerns. If you wish to formally complain about our privacy
practices, please forward it in writing to John McCordic. John will
acknowledge receipt of all written complaints. He will ensure prompt
investigation and provide a formal written response.
For more general inquiries, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of
Canada oversees the administration of the privacy legislation in the private
sector. The Commissioner also acts as a kind of ombudsman for privacy
disputes. The Information and Privacy Commissioner can be reached at:
North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic
308 – 125 East 13th Street,
North Vancouver, BC, V7L 2L3
Tel: (604) 987-5291 Fax: (604) 987-2541
Email: info@nsosc.com Website: www.nsosc.com
Enhancing Service to Our Membership
E-Mail Permission Form
With the advancement of technology, we now have the ability to communicate
instantaneously through electronic mail (E-mail).
North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic would like to utilize this quick,
efficient means to communicate with you, our valued client. Our goal is to
enhance service to our clients by sending information and research updates
on health and wellness, an informative electronic newsletter, news of
promotions and services offered by our clinic and professionals and to host
relevant question and answer forums. This enables the opportunity to:
1. Communicate with you quickly regarding your physical health and fitness
2. To receive your feedback quickly without challenges
North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic respectfully requests your
permission to obtain your email address to effectively correspond with you.
Also, North Shore Orthopaedic & Sports Clinic guarantees that your personal
information will be kept in strictest confidence. We guarantee that your
personal information will never be distributed for use by other third
parties. As well, you may request to unsubscribe from our email database at
any time, should you no longer wish to communicate with us in this manner.
Paper documents are always under supervision or secured in a locked or
restricted area.