A father, a non-custodial parent with only access rights to his child, requested his child’s personal health information (PHI) from Dr. Paola Leon (the custodian). In support of his request, the father provided a court order and a consent to disclosure from the child’s mother, who has sole custody of the child.
The custodian denied the request on the basis that the father, as a non-custodial parent, does not have a right of access to the child’s PHI because he is not a lawfully authorized substitute decision-maker for the child under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA). The custodian subsequently gave the father a summary of the child’s PHI and treatment, but she decided not to disclose entire records containing the child’s PHI under PHIPA’s discretionary disclosure provisions at sections 29(a) (consent), 41(1)(d)(i) (compliance with summons or order) and 43(1)(h) (permitted or required by law). The custodian’s exercise of discretion was informed by her concerns about the child’s best interests and about the potential harm that disclosure could cause the child.
In this decision, the adjudicator finds that the father does not have a right of access to the child’s PHI under Part V of PHIPA. She also upholds the custodian’s exercise of discretion not to disclose the child’s PHI to the father under Part IV of PHIPA. She upholds the custodian’s decision and issues no order.