ABOUT US

The Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information (the Centre) is responsible for developing and implementing the province’s confidential and secure electronic health record (EHR).

The Centre also works to improve the health of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians by providing quality health information to health professionals, the public, researchers and health system decision-makers.

The Centre is a crown corporation of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. It also receives funding from the not-for-profit group Canada Health Infoway, which funds EHRs across Canada.

Privacy

Protecting your personal health Information is our top priority. The Centre respects the privacy and confidentiality of a person’s personal health information when collecting, using or disclosing information in compliance with The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA) and the Personal Health Information Act (PHIA).

Our Privacy team is responsible for ensuring the Centre sets a high standard for protecting personal health information. Their responsibilities include:

• Overseeing Centre compliance with access and privacy legislation.
• Providing advice and guidance on access and privacy issues.
• Processing Access to Information & Protection of Privacy (ATIPP) requests.
• Investigating privacy breaches.
• Providing education and training on the Access to Information & Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA) and the Personal Health Information Act (PHIA).
• Coordinating Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs). 

If you would like to obtain access to or request a correction of your personal health information in the custody or control of the Centre, please visit our information request section.

The Privacy team is committed to ensuring privacy measures put in place by the Centre meet the needs of individuals. Should you have any concerns, please contact a member of our Privacy team. If you feel as though the Centre is not in compliance with PHIA or ATIPPA a complaint may be made to the Newfoundland and Labrador Privacy Commissioner.

Consent Management

Some individuals may want more privacy. If you do, you can apply a consent directive to your profile which will require health care professionals to enter a password, chosen by you, in order to access your health information. This lets you control who sees your health information, but could lead to delays in accessing your information. To learn more about applying a consent directive, click the links below.

• HEALTHe NL Consent Management Booklet
• Add or Remove a Consent Directive Form

For more information, please contact a member of our Privacy Team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Note: Please note that email is not deemed a secure method for transferring Personal Health Information. Please limit your email to your name and phone number and someone from the Privacy Department will contact you to discuss your matter further. 

Security

The Centre’s eHealth systems are private and secure. They are designed with strong security features to protect personal health information.

• EHR information is shared over a secure network, built with multiple firewalls and encryption.
• Only authorized health care professionals have access to the EHR and they use passwords to access EHR systems.
• Only health care professionals involved in giving you care are allowed to view your profile.
• There are records of each time a profile is accessed, including by whom and when. You can ask to see that record.
• Masked profiles can be accessed in an emergency to ensure you get the best possible treatment.

Information held in the EHR will also help plan and manage our provincial health system. Sometimes, it may be used for research. Identifying details, such as your name and MCP number, will be removed where appropriate before any information is used for purposes other than your health care. Only the minimum amount of information needed to support the initiative will be provided. Sometimes, the law may require information from your medical profile be provided to legal authorities.

Our Mandate

Every day the Centre's staff along with the executive team and Board of Directors work hard to deliver our mandate.

To assist and support individuals, communities, regional health authorities and other health service providers and policy makers at federal, provincial and regional levels to enhance the health and well-being of persons in the province through the planning and delivery of health and community services by:

• Developing, operating and managing a comprehensive and aligned information system that fully integrates and uses data and health information from all components of the health and community services system for the delivery of health care and health system planning. 
• Developing data and technical standards and keeping them up-to-date.
• Managing provincial health data and information assets.
• Preparing health reports and conducting applied health research and evaluation.
• Providing health analytics and decision support services.

The Centre's mandate is stated in its enabling legislation, the Centre for Health Information Act, Section 4, Subsection 1.

Executive

Board of Directors

In keeping with the Centre for Health Information Act, the Centre is governed by a Board of Directors. Individuals are appointed to the Board by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council for a three-year term and can continue to serve as director until re-appointed or replaced. The following individuals comprised the Centre's Board of Directors as of March 31, 2015:

• Dr. Kris Aubrey-Bassler, Chairperson
• Ms. Cynthia Holden
• Ms. Patsy Coish Snow, Vice Chairperson
• Mr. Allan Kendall
• Ms. Pamela Anstey
• Ms. Ellen MacDonald
• Ms. Elyse Bruce
• Ms. Karen Oldford
• Mr. Allan Bradley
• Dr. Margaret Mary Steele
• Mr. Tom Bursey
• Mr. David Thornhill
• Mr. Michael Harvey