Access & Privacy
Note: starting May 11, 2023, you will be asked if you’d like to voluntarily disclose your race, ethnicity and Indigenous identity as part of routine patient registration. For more information, click here.
- Accessing Your Health Information
- Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
- Protecting Your Personal Health Information
The Personal Health Information Act (PHIA)
As part of providing health care services within Interlake-Eastern RHA, we only collect, use and disclose your personal information and personal health information as permitted by The Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) and The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). These Acts require Interlake-Eastern RHA to ensure the privacy of your information. We are committed to the privacy and protection of your personal and personal health information.
This Act provides you with a right to access your personal health information, to request a copy and also request a correction. There are certain limited exceptions that may apply to your request. The Act also requires that we protect the privacy and confidentiality of your personal health information and sets out clear and certain rules for how we can collect, use and disclose your personal health information.
Accessing Your Health Information
To access your own health information or to request disclosure of personal health information please complete the Request to Access Personal Health Information form and return it to the attention of the health information services department at the facility where you received your care.
Privacy officers are responsible for dealing with requests from individuals who want to look at, get a copy of or request a correction to their personal health information. The privacy officer is also responsible for facilitating the Interlake-Eastern RHA’s compliance with PHIA.
| Health Information Services | Mailing Address | Phone | Confidential Fax # |
| Arborg & District Health Centre | 234 Gislason Drive, Box 10 Arborg MB R0C 0A0 | 204-376-5247 | 204-376-5669 |
| Ashern Lakeshore General Hospital | 1 Steenson Drive, Box 110 Ashern MB R0C 0E0 | 204-768-3436 | 204-768-2268 |
| Beausejour Health Centre | 151 First St. S. Box 1178 Beausejour MB R0E 0C0 | 204-268-7444 | 204-268-1207 |
| Eriksdale E.M. Crowe Memorial Hospital | 40 Railway Ave., Box 130 Eriksdale MB R0C 0W0 | 204-739-2611 | 204-739-2065 |
| Gimli Community Health Centre | 120-6th Ave., Box 250 Gimli MB R0C 1B0 | 204-642-4590 | 204-642-5860 |
| Pinawa Hospital | 30 Vanier Drive, Box 220 Pinawa MB R0E 1L0 | 204-753-3142 204-753-3152 | 204-753-2219 |
| Pine Falls Health Complex | 37 Maple Street, Box 2000 Pine Falls MB R0E 1M0 | 204-367-5416 | 204-367-8981 |
| Selkirk Regional Health Centre | 120 Easton Dr., Box 5000 Selkirk MB R1A 2M2 | 204-482-5800 | 204-785-8854 |
| Stonewall & District Health Centre | 589 3rd Avenue Stonewall MB R0C 2Z0 | 204-467-3384 | 204-467-8443 |
| Teulon Hunter Memorial Hospital | 162-3rd Ave. SE, Box 89 Teulon MB R0C 3B0 | 204-886-4303 204-886-2433 | 204-886-2653 |
The Interlake-Eastern RHA has designated a Regional Privacy Advisor who provides direction and support to the privacy officers within the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority. In addition, this advisor ensures policies are in place regarding compliance with the PHIA and FIPPA Acts. For more information, please click the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act tab at the top of the page.
Interlake-Eastern RHA Personal Health Information Act Policies
Ga-7-P-50 Confidentiality
Ga-7-P-52 Access to Personal Health Information
Ga-7-P-54 Collection of Personal Health Information
Ga-7-P-55 Correction of Personal Health Information
Ga-7-P-57 Use And Disclosure of Personal Health Information
Ga-7-P-58 Reporting Privacy Breaches
Ga-7-P-60 Security and Storage of Personal Health Information
Ga-7-P-61 Transmission Of Personal Health Information Via Fax
Ga-7-P-66 Disclosure of Personal Health Information To Police
Ga-7-P-120 Electronic Communication Of Personal And Personal Health Information
Ga-7-P-130 Exercising The Rights of an Individual
Ga-7-P-190 Photography Videography and Audio Recordings
GA-7-62 PHIA Appointment of Privacy Officers
Frequently Asked Questions about Personal Health Information
The following information is from the Access and Privacy Division of the Manitoba Ombudsman.
How do I request access to records containing my personal health information?
Requests for access to your personal health information must be made to the trustee whom you believe maintains the personal health information. The trustee may require your request to be in writing; there is no prescribed form for these situations. Please note, you have the right to request your documents in the official language of your choice.
Will I receive access to all of my personal health information?
There are certain specific and limited situations where a trustee is not required to permit you to examine your personal health information. These exceptions are listed in section 11(1) of The Personal Health Information Act. If one or more of these exceptions apply, the trustee is required to sever information that cannot be examined and provide you with a copy of the remainder of the information. The practice of severance, which involves removing information that falls within an exception to disclosure from a copy of the record to be released, enables the disclosure of as much information as possible. This means that your request may result in the disclosure of only parts of the record(s) you wish to access.
Will I have to pay anything for access?
A trustee may charge a reasonable fee for permitting examination of personal health information and providing a copy.
How do I request corrections to my personal health information?
If, after obtaining access to your personal health information, you believe that there is an error or omission in the information, you may request a correction to that information. There is no prescribed form for this purpose, but The Personal Health Information Act requires that the request be in writing. Your letter should be sent to the trustee who maintains this information.
Interlake-Eastern RHA has designated a Regional Privacy Advisor who provides direction and support to the privacy officers within the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority. In addition, this advisor ensures policies are in place regarding compliance with the PHIA and FIPPA Acts. Interlake-Eastern RHA’s Regional Privacy Advisor can be contacted by mail or phone at:
Interlake-Eastern RHA Regional Privacy Advisor
Box 5000, 100 Easton Drive
Selkirk, Manitoba
R1A 2M2
204 785-7240
204 785-8854
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)
This act provides you with the right to access records we hold and regulates how we manage personal information. FIPPA also provides an independent review process for people who disagree with access and privacy decisions made by public bodies under the Act. You have the right to request your documents in the official language of your choice.
FIPPA application to access form – please complete this form and return to:
Interlake-Eastern RHA FIPPA Coordinator
Box 5000, 120 Easton Drive
Selkirk, Manitoba
R1A 2M2
204-785-7240
204-785-4617
The following information is from the Access and Privacy Division of the Manitoba Ombudsman.
What is the Personal Health Information Act (PHIA)?
The Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) provides access to information and protection of privacy rights concerning personal health information. PHIA allows individuals to examine and receive a copy of their own personal health information from a trustee holding this information. PHIA imposes obligations on trustees for the protection of personal health information, specifically its collection, use, disclosure and security. It was proclaimed as law in Manitoba on December 11, 1997.
Who falls under PHIA?
PHIA applies to trustees who maintain (have custody or control of) personal health information. Trustees are:
-all public bodies that fall under FIPPA
-health professionals licensed or registered to provide health care or health professionals (such as doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, etc.);
-health care facilities (such as hospitals, personal care homes, psychiatric facilities, medical clinics, laboratories, the Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, and community health centres or other health care facilities designated in the regulations)
-health services agencies providing health care under an agreement with another trustee (such as the Victorian Order of Nurses and We Care).
What is a “record”?
PHIA defines a “record” as “a record of information in any form, and includes information that is written, photographed, recorded or stored in any manner, on any storage medium or by any means, including by graphic, electronic or mechanical means, but does not include electronic software or any mechanism that produces records”.
What is “personal health information”?
Personal health information is information about an identifiable individual that relates to an individual’s health and health care history including genetic information, the provision of health care to the individual, or payment for health care provided to the individual. This includes such things as your Personal Health Information Number (PHIN) assigned by Manitoba Health, as well as any identifying information collected in the course of providing health care services.
Who can see my personal health information?
PHIA provides you with a right of access to your own personal health information. An employee of the trustee who needs to know your personal health information to provide you with health care services may see your information. PHIA also allows for the sharing of your personal health information in specific limited circumstances. Division 3 of PHIA sets out the requirements for the protection of the privacy of your personal health information.
The Interlake-Eastern RHA has designated a Regional Privacy Advisor who provides direction and support to the privacy officers within the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority. In addition, this advisor ensures policies are in place regarding compliance with the PHIA and FIPPA Acts. Interlake-Eastern RHA’s Regional Privacy Advisor can be contacted by mail or phone at:
Interlake-Eastern RHA Regional Privacy Advisor
Box 5000, 120 Easton Drive
Selkirk, Manitoba
R1A 2M2
204 785-7240
204 785-8854
