Who is Cancer Care Ontario?
Cancer
Care Ontario is an operational service agency of the Ontario Ministry
of Health and Long-Term Care. We are a planning and research
organization that advises the Ontario government on all aspects of
provincial cancer care, provides planning information to health care
providers and decision-makers, and motivates better cancer system
performance.
What does Cancer Care Ontario do?
The focus of
Cancer Care Ontario is on planning and purchasing to meet the demand
for cancer services, and reporting on quality and performance in the
cancer system. We also directly manage several provincial cancer
programs, and a multifaceted program in cancer research.
Cancer Care Ontario's activities include:
- Recommending to
Government what needs to be put in place so that Ontario's cancer
system will be better able to accommodate the increasing demand for
cancer services;
- Managing performance contracts with 11
hospitals across the province, linking their funding for cancer
services to quality of care;
- Planning and overseeing the development of expanded and new cancer centres across the province;
- Arranging the purchase of highly specialized and expensive radiation equipment for cancer centres across the province;
- Monitoring
cancer system quality, and reporting through the Cancer System Quality
Index, an on-line tool that tracks Ontario's progress against cancer in
five key areas, and points out where improvements can have the greatest
impact;
- Reporting on wait times for radiation therapy and chemotherapy across the province;
- Reporting on cancer causes, occurrence and prevention;
- Managing provincial programs including:
- the Ontario Breast Screening Program,
- the Ontario Cervical Screening Program,
- the Ontario Cancer Registry, and
- the New Drug Funding Program;
- Conducting cancer research related to:
- the causes and occurrence of cancer (epidemiology),
- prevention and screening,
- cancer genetics,
- health services (the organization, delivery and funding of cancer care), and cancer treatments (clinical research).
Where does CCO get personal health information?
Cancer
Care Ontario is not identified as a health information custodian under
Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA),
because it is not a primary data collector. However, PHIPA authorizes
Cancer Care Ontario to collect and use personal health information to
carry out its role in planning and managing the cancer system.
The personal health information provided to CCO comes from health
information custodians who are directly involved in the care and
treatment of patients -- for example, hospitals, cancer screening
programs and physicians -- and from organizations such as the Canadian
Institute for Health Information and Statistics Canada.
What type of personal health information does CCO collect?
The
personal health information collected by CCO may include name, date of
birth, health insurance number, information about the cancer and
related illnesses, and information about hospitalizations and
procedures performed while in hospital. Information collected for
research registries, may also include, with the consent of the
individual participant, blood or tissue samples and information about
family members.
How does CCO use personal health information?
CCO uses the information to help plan, fund and report on performance of the cancer system. For example, data are used to:
- calculate survival rates,
- report wait times for radiation and chemotherapy,
- report on the quality of cancer services in Ontario,
- point out where actions can be taken to improve care,
- reimburse hospitals for specific cancer drugs,
- estimate cancer incidence and demand / need for services,
- manage the Ontario Breast Screening Program,
- advise the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care on cancer issues, and
- support research by CCO behavioural scientists and research associates.
To whom does CCO disclose personal health information?
Personal
health information is disclosed by CCO, as authorized by law, to
organizations such as the Institute of Clinical and Evaluative
Sciences, and to researchers who comply with research requirements set
out in PHIPA.
Any personal health information that isdisclosed must comply with CCO’s data disclosure policies.
How can I get access to my information?
Generally,
persons requesting access to their health information will be directed
to those who originally collected the information -- health information
custodians who are directly involved in the care and treatment of
patients (e.g., your doctor or other health care provider). This is
consistent with PHIPA, under which CCO is not required to give patients
access to its records. Exceptions may be made, for example, where an
individual is researching their family’s cancer history. Please contact the Office of the Chief Privacy Officer for more information.
Review of CCO’s information practices
Cancer
Care Ontario’s information practices must be reviewed and approved
every three years by Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner.
More information
More information about Cancer
Care Ontario, our programs, the measures we take to safeguard
information, and our privacy protection practices, is available on the
Cancer Care Ontario Web site www.cancercare.on.ca or by contacting the Office of the Chief Privacy Officer.
Any individual may submit a concern or complaint about Cancer Care
Ontario's information practices to the Information and Privacy
Commissioner of Ontario by contacting:
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, ON M4W1A8
Telephone: 416.326.3333 or 1.800.387.0073
TDD/TTY: 416.325.7539
FAX: 416.325.9125
www.ipc.on.ca