Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Dolynny.
The Standing Committee on Social Programs strongly urges the following courses of action:
1) that the Department of Health and Social
Services develop and implement a comprehensive public awareness campaign;
2) that the Department of Health and Social
Services provide extensive training for health
information custodians and health care providers;
3) that the Department of Health and Social
Services ensure the quality of patient care is not unduly compromised when a patient withholds, withdraws or places limits on consent;
4) that the Department of Health and Social
Services employ a grace period during the first year of implementation, requiring custodians to provide patients with repeated opportunities to absorb the legislation;
5) that the Information and Privacy Commissioner
be provided with additional fiscal and human resources to support implementation of the act;
6) that the Department of Health and Social
Services ensure consistent application of the legislation across all regional authorities;
7) that the Department of Health and Social
Services take reasonable measures to ensure that unilingual Aboriginal language speakers understand their rights and what the legislation means;
8) that the Department of Health and Social
Services provide an opportunity for the Standing Committee on Social Programs to review and comment on the regulations before they come into force;
9) that the Department of Health and Social
Services provide an opportunity for the public to review and comment on the regulations before they come into force;
10)
that the Department of Health and Social Services review the “Pan-Canadian De-Identification Guidelines for Personal Health Information” as prepared by the Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada and ensure the regulations include measures to mitigate against the risks of re-identification;
11)
that the Department of Health and Social Services clearly inform residents about their right to withhold consent to use of their information for research purposes;
12)
that the Department of Health and Social Services provide training to members of the territorial research ethics committee which conforms to the tri-council policy statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans;
13)
that the Department of Health and Social Services establish information-sharing agreements with Alberta and other jurisdictions to ensure personal health information is protected to the greatest extent possible when it leaves the NWT;
14)
that the Department of Health and Social Services and other custodians make it their
practice to comply with access and correction requests promptly and without undue delay;
15)
that the Department of Health and Social Services inform patients about their right to obtain a log indicating which individuals have accessed their personal health information;
16)
that the Department of Health and Social Services take reasonable measures to ensure the Electronic Medical Records System is running smoothly prior to implementation;
17)
that the Department of Health and Social Services ensure that mental health workers, nurses and other health care providers are not unduly prevented from collaborating with teachers, social workers and other professionals; and
18)
that the Department of Health and Social Services include a module in their training to custodians and health-sector workers on the “wrap-around,” or team-based, approach, including how to obtain express consent from clients.
Conclusion
The committee is grateful to everyone who provided input on Bill 4 and attended the public hearings.
The Standing Committee on Social Programs advises that it supports Bill 4 as amended and presented to Committee of the Whole.