The Alberta Health Information Act (HIA) is a legal framework designed to protect the privacy and confidentiality of individuals' personal health information in Alberta, Canada.
The HIA, which went into effect on April 25, 2001, regulates the collection, use, and disclosure of health information to protect individuals' privacy and provide appropriate access for healthcare and system management. It empowers individuals with the right to access and correct their health records and establishes stringent guidelines for managing health information, focusing on minimal data collection.
The Act provides clear protocols for managing health data securely, allows for independent reviews of custodians' decisions, provides strong remedies for breaches, ensures independent reviews and complaint resolution regarding custodians' decisions, and enforces penalties for non-compliance, ensuring accountability across Alberta’s health sector.Â
The HIA establishes specific guidelines for the secure management of health data, allows independent reviews of custodian decisions, provides robust remedies for contraventions, and imposes non-compliance penalties, ensuring accountability across Alberta's healthcare sector.