Can hospitals use a patients personal health information for fundraising purposes?
Under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, public hospitals may use only a patient’s name and contact information for fundraising purposes. This is only allowed when the hospital has either the express or implied consent of the patient. However, in order to rely on a patient’s ‘implied’ consent, the hospital must post a ‘notice’ in public areas, or give patients a pamphlet that describes the hospital’s information practices. Hospital foundations do NOT have access to any personal health information about a patient’s treatment or state of health. The Act achieves an appropriate balance which allows hospital foundations to raise much-needed funds while ensuring a patient has the right to control his or her personal health information.
