Yukon government developing new privacy rules for health records

The Yukon government is looking for input on who should have access to your personal health care records, and how accessible they should be.

The government is working on new regulations focussed on managing and protecting health files. The new rules would fall under the Health Information Privacy and Management Act, passed in 2013 but not yet in effect.

"I think people are paying a little bit more attention to how their information is stored, and who has access to it," said Pat Living, a government spokesperson.

"What we need to do now is to develop the regulations that will lay out the detailed requirements how this information is shared, how it can be shared, who gets to see it, how it's stored," Living said.

The territorial health department has put together a "discussion document," and is seeking feedback from health professionals and other Yukoners.

Living says Yukoners should tell the government whether they feel their personal health information is well protected, and whether there should be a fee to access one's own records.

Living says the goal is to finish consultations by the end of this year, and have regulations in place in early 2016. 

"We need this in place to support our electronic health initiatives," Living said, referring to an electronic drug information system, a client registry, and a laboratory information system.

"Again, because it directs who can see what level of information, and who needs to be sharing with who, and what's available to folks."