Connecting Ontario

The Connecting Ontario Clinical Viewer is a secure, provincial electronic health record (EHR) system that allows Ontario clinicians, and authorized members of their health care teams, to access their patients’ personal health information (e.g. lab results, diagnostic imaging reports, discharge summaries, details of a prior visit to the emergency or other department). Access to the viewer is restricted to those who provide or assist with patient care. The program is funded and overseen by eHealth Ontario. For more information on the ConnectingOntario program please visit: www.ConnectingOntario.ca.

The Royal is a contributing organization and will provide its health care providers with access to the provincial EHR through the ConnectingOntario ClinicalViewer starting in February 2018. This access will help us provide high quality patient and family-centred care in the most efficient way possible.

The Royal, along with all other organizations participating in the ConnectingOntario program, must follow all applicable health privacy laws (including the Personal Health Information and Protection Act, 2004) as well as the EHR privacy policies and procedures.

Connecting Ontario and Your Privacy

You have the right to block access to your personal health record in the ConnectingOntario ClinicalViewer by placing a consent directive (often referred to as a lock-box). It is best to discuss the implications of placing a consent directive with a member of your treatment team. Please note that a consent directive may only be overridden with your express consent, or in other circumstances permitted by law. For more information, please contact our Chief Privacy Officer at +1 (613) 722-6521 ext. 6328 (Ottawa) or ext. 2249 (Brockville) or privacyoffice@theroyal.ca

Access and Feedback

You have the right to request copies of your health records contained in the ConnectingOntario ClinicalViewer or request that your record be corrected if you believe it contains an error. Please contact The Royal’s Clinical Records Department if your request relates to information about a previous visit to or interaction with any program run by the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre or Brockville Mental Health Centre. For all other access or correction requests in the EHR, please refer to the Access and Correction Request for Service Form on the eHealth Ontario website.

For privacy-related inquiries and complaints about The Royal’s participation in the ConnectingOntario program, please contact our Chief Privacy Officer at +1 (613) 722-6521 ext. 6328 (Ottawa) or ext. 2249 (Brockville) or by email at privacyoffice@theroyal.ca. For all other inquiries about the EHR program or the viewer, please refer to Electronic Health Record Inquiries and Complaints Request for Service Form on the eHealth Ontario website.

Connecting Ontario Patient Information Brochure