(Quebec) One year after tabling a first version that died on the order paper in June, Quebec is submitting a new bill to facilitate access to health data. New: the piece of legislation authorizes the communication of certain personal information to the police authorities.
Bill 3 on health and social services information and amending various legislative provisions essentially takes up the orientations of Bill 19, tabled in December 2021 by the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé. It is the Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital, Éric Caire, who will pilot the progress of the legislative piece this time.
The proposed legislative changes aim to increase the flow of data through the imposing health and social services network. In Quebec, the rules governing practices in terms of access to health and social services information are dispersed in several laws and regulations, said Minister Dubé’s office in a press release.
New: the bill allows the communication of certain personal information in very specific cases to the police authorities. In particular, disappearances will be added to the legal concept of emergency which already authorized the transmission of information to the police services. The police could then call an establishment to check if the person sought is there.
An establishment may also provide certain information about a patient in the event that a police intervention is requested by the CISSS or the CIUSSS, such as during transport. Finally, in a case of violence against a member of the health care staff, health information on the alleged aggressor may be disclosed in evidence, which was not the case before.
Another element differentiates the two bills: we have just allowed Quebecers to block personal information that they do not wish to see displayed in the Digital Health Record – which is still being started –, such as cases of domestic violence. This is a practice inspired by Denmark, where Minister Dubé visited at the beginning of the summer.