Virtual Healthcare Services in Canada: Digital Trails, De-Identified Data and Privacy Implications

This project has been funded by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC); the views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necesssarily reflect those of the OPC. [...] Additionally, we consulted officers in the Offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioners (OIPC) of Ontario and Alberta, as well as the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) via informal telephone interviews. [...] Viewing patients as autonomous individual consumers, however, gives patients the responsibility for the management of their care journey instead of being part of a larger system of care that supports the well-being of the population. [...] C O N T I N U I T Y O F C A R E Participants also expressed concerns that as the commercial VCPs were not “fully integrated into the rest of the system” (KW, a CEO at a multinational technology consulting company), they may disrupt the “continuity of care” because the patient data is “all over the place” (JV, a Data Analyst at a large company with a VCP) and creating “a highly fragmented system” (. [...] The CEO of a multinational technology consulting company explained how the data they defined as PHI may be used, [PHI is used] only to schedule the visit, to conduct the session, and it is being only collected and to be used for the primary purpose, which is to provide that patient with a virtual exchange with their physician.