Privacy | CarePoint Health

The Ontario Structured Psychotherapy program (OSP) is an initiative supported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) with the goal of expanding the availability of psychotherapy and related services to Ontarians who experience depression, anxiety, and anxiety-related concerns.

Participation in the OSP Program requires the collection and sharing of personal health information (PHI) with those directly involved in providing you care, as well as those working to improve services in the mental health system – just as one does when they visit a medical doctor in Ontario.

To help determine what OSP services would best support your needs, personal information will be collected and maintained by CarePoint Health. This information will include your:

Ontario health card number
Date of birth
Demographic information
Information about services you receive (e.g., assessment, care)

You may also receive services from one or more providers within our service network depending on your needs, and your health information will be shared through secure digital platforms with these providers as part of your care.

Data Privacy & Confidentiality FAQs

What information is being collected and why?

Are there any risks or benefits to participating in this program?

Is participation in OSP voluntary?

Will my personal health information remain private and confidential?

What happens to my Personal Health Information (PHI) in the OSP program?

What is the OSP program provincial data repository?

Who can I contact if I have more questions regarding privacy and confidentiality of my data in the OSP program?

As a client of this program, your Ontario health card number, basic personal information (e.g., your name, DOB, address, etc.), demographic information (e.g., age, sex, gender) and clinical information will be collected. This helps us understand what service is most appropriate for you, and to connect you with a service provider to improve the quality and administration of the OSP program. This information will be collected and maintained by CarePoint Health, and shared with those who provide you with service as you move through the OSP program. Information about clients in OSP will be shared with Ontario Health to improve mental health programming in Ontario.

The benefits of participating in the program include the opportunity to access evidence-based psychotherapy and related approaches and hopefully, you will experience an improvement in depression, anxiety, and anxiety-related symptoms. The potential risks of participation include the possibility that when thinking or talking about upsetting aspects of your life, you will experience a temporary increase in distress.

Your participation in this program is voluntary and you are free to choose to withdraw from the program at any time by contacting the intake team at osp@carepointhealth.ca or 905-728-1308 (toll-free 1-833-677-0174). When you choose to participate in OSP, collection and sharing of health and other service-related information is necessary to provide you with the most appropriate care.

Every effort will be made to ensure your personal health information will be protected and your confidentiality maintained at all times. Protection of your personal health information is governed by law under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). This Act sets out rules that must be followed when collecting, storing, using and/or sharing personal health information for treatment.

There are some exceptions to confidentiality where information may be released with or without your consent. When possible, we will make every effort to notify you. The exceptions are:

If your care provider believes that you are at immediate risk of suicide or serious bodily harm to yourself and disclosure would eliminate or reduce the risk.
If your care provider believes that there is an immediate risk of serious physical harm or injury to another person and disclosure would eliminate or reduce the risk.
If your care provider suspects a child under 18 may be at risk for abuse or neglect.
If your care provider believes that any regulated health professional has sexually abused or has been sexually inappropriate with a client.
If your care provider believes that an elderly person living in a long-term care facility is being abused.
Where the disclosure is permitted or required by law (e.g., your information is subpoenaed by a court of law or as part of a missing person’s investigation), or disclosure where permitted by PHIPA or other legislation.

In order to provide you with the best and most appropriate service available, your information may be shared with other service providers under OSP, as deemed necessary by your clinician/coach.

In addition, your care provider may discuss your progress with their clinical supervisor/consultant and other therapists/coaches as part of ongoing supervision or consultation.

Every effort will be made to securely store all Personal Health Information (PHI) collected and comply with institutional data storage protocols, such as password-protected access. If deemed necessary for service, your information may be securely transferred to another service provider within the OSP Program through a secure digital platform.

For evaluation and reporting purposes, service providers will regularly transfer client information to the provincial data repository for the OSP Program. The data repository will securely receive information from all participating OSP service providers and may combine client records across multiple providers if necessary for the purposes of reporting. Reports may be shared with Ontario Health, the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence, regional health authorities (i.e., one or more Ontario Health Teams), and service providers within the network. All reports produced will contain only de-identified aggregate data. In other words, there will be no PHI or information presented in any reports that will be able to identify an individual participating in the OSP Program.

Ontario Health has tasked the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Provincial System Support Program (PSSP) and its Drug and Alcohol Treatment Information System (DATIS) with supporting the OSP Program. DATIS acts as the provincial data repository and is responsible for storing, analyzing, and reporting on OSP Program clients from all service providers across Ontario.

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints related to CarePoint Health’s information or privacy practices, you can contact Luciana Rodrigues, OSP Director, at 905-362-3508 or osp@carepointhealth.ca.