The complainant made three access requests to Public Health Ontario (PHO) for information relating to her and her two minor children in respect of laboratory testing for Lyme disease, including the names of staff members who accessed her and her children’s electronic health record. After clarifying the request, PHO issued a decision granting partial access to responsive records, withholding the staff names citing privacy concerns, but not claiming any exemptions under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). During the mediation of the complaint, PHO claimed the application of the discretionary exemption in section 20 (threat to health and safety) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) through the flow-through provision in sections 52(1)(f)(i) and (ii)(A) of PHIPA. Also during mediation, the complainant raised the issue of search, believing that other records relating to her and her children exist.
During the review of the complaint, PHO further raised the application of sections 18(1)(c) and (d) (economic and other interests) of FIPPA, through the flow-through provision in sections 52(1)(f)(i) and (ii)(A) of PHIPA.
In this decision, the adjudicator finds that PHO is a health information custodian, and the records at issue qualify as the personal health information of the complainant and her children. She further finds that each record is dedicated primarily to the personal health information of the patient that the audit report relates to.
She goes on to find that the information at issue is not exempt from the right of access in section 52(1) under sections 18(1)(c), 18(1)(d) or 20 of FIPPA through the flow-through provision in sections 52(1)(f)(i) and (ii)(A) of PHIPA. Lastly, she upholds PHO’s search for records responsive to the request.