Freedom of Information policy

October 1, 2011

Preamble
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), 2012 provides individuals with the right to access information retained by Kingston General Hospital (KGH) about the management and operations of the hospital, excluding personal health information, in a manner that promotes effective accountability but recognizes specific exemptions and exclusions necessary to preserve the privacy of personal information.  Request for access to personal health information is covered under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), 2004.

Records of the hospital are retained in accordance with our Records Management Policy (Administrative policy 01-220) and the Records Retention Schedule.  Release of documents under FIPPA will follow the Freedom of Information (FOI) Standard Records Search protocol as retained in the shared Kingston General and Hotel Dieu Hospital Privacy Office (shared Privacy Office).

Policy
All FOI requests will be directed to the shared Privacy Office.  The Freedom of Information Coordinator (FOIC) is responsible for collecting, reviewing, disclosing and reporting all information with regard to FOI requests.

Requests can be made in writing, or by using the FOI Request Form (Appendix A) which is available on our internet site under the Privacy link, or at specified locations throughout the Hospital.  The following criteria are required for a complete request:

a. The letter or request must be addressed to the KGH Freedom of Information Coordinator.
b. The request must provide sufficient detail to ensure clarity of what is being requested.
c. The letter or form must be dated and signed by the requestor.
d. A $5.00 application fee must accompany the request, made payable to Kingston General Hospital.

Requests must be directed to the Privacy Office, Freedom of Information Coordinator immediately after being received in order to fulfill a 30 day requirement to complete the request, or as specified in the Act.

Questions or further information about FOI requests can be obtained from the Privacy Office section of our internet site, by calling the KGH Privacy Office at Ext. 2567 or through email at privacy@kgh.kari.net.

Reference:
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), 2012
Regulation 460 of FIPPA

Appendix A

FOI request form