PHIA (NS)
Personal Health Information Act (Nova Scotia)
Nova Scotia's health privacy law for custodians of personal health information
Nova Scotia's Personal Health Information Act governs how custodians collect, use, disclose, retain, and destroy personal health information in the province. It sets consent rules, mandates safeguards, and requires custodians to notify affected individuals — and in serious cases the Information and Privacy Commissioner — of privacy breaches. Nova Scotia is deemed substantially similar to PIPEDA for health information.
Who must comply with PHIA (NS)?
Custodians in Nova Scotia include regulated health professionals, hospitals, the provincial health authority, pharmacies, and continuing-care facilities. Information managers and agents that handle personal health information on a custodian’s behalf are bound through written agreements.
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Key obligations under PHIA (NS)
Knowledgeable Consent
Collect, use, and disclose personal health information only with the individual’s knowledgeable consent, except where the Act permits otherwise (such as within a circle of care).
Limiting Principle
Collect, use, and disclose only as much personal health information as is reasonably necessary for the purpose.
Safeguards
Protect personal health information with reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards against loss, theft, and unauthorized access.
Breach Notification
Notify the affected individual at the first reasonable opportunity, and the OIPC where a breach could cause harm or embarrassment.
Right of Access & Correction
Individuals can request access to their own health record and ask for corrections, with defined response timelines.
Information Manager Agreements
Written agreements are required before an information manager processes, stores, or destroys personal health information for a custodian.
Penalties & enforcement
NS PHIA created specific offences for snooping — accessing a health record without authorization is a prosecutable act.
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