Who We Are

Buttle Speech Pathology (‘Buttle SLP’, ‘we’, or ‘us’) is a speech-language pathology (SLP) private practice which is committed to helping individuals with communication difficulties resulting from severe injuries or acquired conditions regain functional communication skills. Buttle Speech Pathology provides treatment to clients in their home, school, work or community settings. In providing SLP services to individuals of all ages and their families, Buttle Speech Pathology is committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding personal information in our custody or control. complying with the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, which governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information in Ontario; as well as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the federal privacy law for private-sector organizations.

Consent

Buttle Speech Pathology will only collect, use and disclose your personal health information (or your child’s personal health information) with your express or implied consent. You have the right to withhold and/or withdraw your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal health information at any time. In cases where Buttle Speech Pathology collects, uses or discloses your personal health information without your consent, it will do so only where it is required or permitted to do so by law.

Collection of Personal / Health Information

Buttle Speech Pathology collects your personal health information directly from you, or from a person authorized to act on your behalf. As with other health care providers, the primary purpose of collection of personal information is to provide speech, language, voice and cognitive communication assessment and therapy services.

The personal health information that we collect may include, for example: your name, date of birth, contact information, health history, family health history, records of your visits with our Speech-Language Pathologists and the treatment that you receive during those visits.

Information submitted to our website through the contact form is sent over a secure channel. Your IP Address is recorded when accessing the website. This information is not shared with any third parties, and is periodically erased.

Occasionally, Buttle Speech Pathology may collect personal health information from other sources, including other health care providers, insurers or legal representatives, where it has obtained your consent to do so or as otherwise permitted by law.

Buttle Speech Pathology will not collect personal health information if other information will serve the purpose. In addition, we will limit the collection, use and disclosure of personal information to that which is necessary to deliver comprehensive health care services or to administer our business for clients and in compliance with applicable privacy laws.

Uses and Disclosure of Personal / Health Information

Your personal health information may be shared among members of the Buttle Speech Pathology team in order to provide you with the best possible rehabilitation services. Buttle Speech Pathology uses and discloses personal health information to:

• facilitate and provide SLP services;
• obtain payment for health care services, including payment from insurance providers;
• plan, administer and manage internal operations;
• conduct risk management and service improvements;
• conduct permitted research;
• compile statistics;
• comply with legal and regulatory requirements; and
• fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law.

Buttle Speech Pathology may share your personal health information with other health professionals involved in your care, such as your family doctor, occupational therapist, or case manager.

Protection of Personal / Health Information

Buttle Speech Pathology recognizes the importance of safeguarding your personal health information and takes all reasonable steps to ensure that your physical and electronic personal health information records are protected against loss, theft or unauthorized access, use or disclosure. In the unlikely event that your personal health information is stolen, lost or improperly accessed, you will be notified immediately.

Retention and Destruction of Personal /Health Information

Per our regulatory body, the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario, we are mandated to retain client records for 10 years past the final visit or a child’s 18^th birthday (in the case of pediatrics). Working notes and recordings are destroyed regularly throughout our intervention, as we transfer the information into progress notes and reports. All remaining files are destroyed on or shortly after the 10-year mark. This includes your contact and health information.

We destroy paper files containing personal information through shredding. Electronic records are permanently deleted, and hardware is physically destroyed when required.

Access and Correction of Record of Personal / Health Information

You have the right to request access to and correction of your record of personal health information. If you would like to access or correct your record, you may make a written request to the Privacy Officer identified below.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about the collection, use, disclosure or protection of your personal health information, please speak to our Clinic Director and Information Officer, Meagan Buttle, who can be reached at meagan@dev.buttleslp.ca.

If you want to know more about how we collect, use, share and protect your personal health information, please ask us for a copy of our Privacy Policy.

Information and Privacy Commissioner

If we are not able to address your privacy concerns, or if you require further information regarding privacy in Ontario, you may contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario at 1-800-387-0073 or info@ipc.on.ca.