2009 Guidelines: Essential on the Road to the EHR

For Immediate Release
(QUÉBEC CITY, QC) – What do hospitals do with old X-rays? Who can access blood test results? How are prescriptions stored at a doctor’s office?

The new 2009 COACH Guidelines for the Protection of Health Information is THE privacy, security and confidentiality resource for dealing with these and many other types of personal health information in Canadian healthcare. Canadian privacy and security experts with hands-on experience in the field made extensive revisions to the previous edition and expanded it to create the 2009 version. Major changes include the addition of significantly more content about the electronic health record (EHR) and personal health records.

“Privacy and security safeguards are more important than ever as health information systems across Canada become more and more integrated to facilitate effective, appropriate sharing and use of personal health information and ultimately benefit healthcare delivery,” said privacy and security expert Elaine Sawatsky, who led the development of the 2009 edition.

The new edition was officially released at the e-Health 2009: Leadership in Action conference earlier today. Embodying tenets of privacy legislation and principles that are accepted across Canada, the new edition is available as an electronic product and a new 300-page reference book. More visuals, such as diagrams and charts, improve usability. Pop-up definitions and more hyperlinks were added to the e-Guidelines to create an improved electronic product. The new reference book format is ideal for meeting educational and reference needs in academic and professional settings.

“Healthcare organizations of all sizes, jurisdictions and structures can rely on this action-oriented set of best practices to minimize risk, maximize integrity and protect the privacy of personal health information,” said Nicholas Giesinger, Chief Security Officer, Saskatchewan Ministry of Health. “Key issues that organizations face in areas such as consent and accuracy are detailed along with guidance for responding to these issues.”

Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba have purchased jurisdictional agreements from COACH for province-wide use and distribution of the Guidelines and other jurisdictions are interested in similar agreements.

Organized to reflect the core principles of the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, the Guidelines is a complementary tool to privacy legislation, policy and processes in any Canadian jurisdiction. The content is aligned with Canada Health Infoway requirements, national standards and international standards, such as the ISO 27002 Security Management Standards.

Looking ahead, COACH will conduct a major update on the Guidelines every second year. In the alternate years, supplementary handbooks focusing on specific subject areas and audiences will be published.

About COACH
COACH: Canada's Health Informatics Association is the diverse community of accomplished, influential professionals who work passionately to make a difference in health informatics (HI). Members are dedicated to realizing their full potential as professionals and advancing HI through access to information, talent, credentials, recognition, programs and a broad range of services and specialized resources. For more information, visit www.coachorg.com.

For more information
Contact COACH
Phone (416) 494-9324, Toll free 1-888-253-8554
info@coachorg.com
www.coachorg.com

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