Privacy and Confidentiality

The University of Toronto Office of Learner Affairs (OLA) is committed to high quality, safe care for learners. To safeguard your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information, services offered by OLA are strictly confidential. OLA faculty and staff are bound by the Personal Health Information and Protection Act (PHIPA) or the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).

At your first appointment with an OLA team member, we will explain our confidentiality and privacy commitment and answer any questions you may have about it. The best care is delivered when your care providers have all your relevant health information. The privacy of your information is governed by the University's commitment and obligation to follow all applicable privacy rules under PHIPA and/or FIPPA. This means our Learner Life Specialists and OLA team keep your information confidential and do not share the information without your consent except in the specific circumstances listed below:

To get in touch with relatives or friends if you are injured, incapacitated, ill and unable to give consent personally.
If there is a concern, you may harm yourself or others.
To report apparent or suspected child abuse or abuse of a person living in a Long-Term Care Facility or Retirement Home.
To report sexual abuse by a regulated health professional.
Where legal circumstances require the University to provide information, for example in response to a subpoena or court order, or to fulfill other mandatory reporting obligations.

Please expand the accordion below to view the remaining sections of this policy.

Documentation of Services

Information collected during visits with Learner Life Specialist or Career Counsellors at the OLA, over a phone call, via email communication or through a virtual visit, will be recorded in your Electronic Health Record, and will be accessible to certain OLA staff, as required to provide you services/support. Information collected by other OLA staff will also be recorded and securely stored in a separate record. For clarity, records of services provided by Learner Life Specialists are kept completely separate from all other learner records within the Office of Learner Affairs.

Record Request

You have the right to see your records and to obtain copies of these records. Please speak to the OLA staff person you are working with if you have any concerns about the accuracy of your records.

Learner Life Specialists

OLA’s Learner Life Specialist team is bound by PHIPA, the University of Toronto’s Privacy and Security Policy, and professional standards. By requesting care from Learner Life Specialist, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal health information for purposes related to your care. If necessary, your Learner Life Specialist may ask your permission to share our personal information with other healthcare providers or other staff within OLA. This information will only be shared if you consent.

All Other OLA Faculty and Staff

All other OLA faculty and staff are bound by FIPPA. If necessary, OLA faculty and staff (excluding Learner Life Specialists) may consult with other members of the OLA team on a “need to know” basis to provide you with the best possible service.

Virtual Services

Meetings with OLA team members may occur via the phone or videoconferencing. You are not required to use virtual services and have the right to request other service options at any time.

Please note sessions could be disrupted or delayed due to technical issues. Virtual services may reduce auditory and visual cues and can increase the likelihood of misunderstanding.

Email Communication

We routinely use email to communicate with you about appointment bookings and resources, and to provide information updates. We communicate confidentially by email, and the security of UTOR to UTOR email is supported by strong security measures as set out in contracts with our vendors. Nevertheless, email communications, particularly between different email services may be less secure, so confidentiality of email communications cannot be guaranteed.

We will respond to emails as soon as we can during regular business hours. The Centre’s email account is not monitored outside of office hours. If you have safety or privacy concerns about use of email, please inform a member of the OLA team.

Reporting a Concern

If you’d like to discuss this the information set out in this policy in more detail, or have specific questions or complaints about how your information is handled, please speak to Karen Crow, Manager, Operations and Learner Affairs at karen.crow@utoronto.ca or 416-978-2764 or contact the University’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Office at privacy@utoronto.ca.