December 2010 – Ontario’s Electronic Health system promises to ensure the free flow of information among health care providers. The current phase of the project is ensuring that lab test results – which are currently only provided to the doctor or other health care provider who ordered the test. – will be made available to other health care providers such as a specialist or emergency room doctor starting in Mid December 2010.

The province has been running full page ads notifying Ontarians that their consent to permit this sharing of lab test results will essentially be assumed unless they take steps to withhold consent. The ads set out the privacy protections and more information is available at http://www.ontario.ca/yourhealthprivacy

Any Ontario resident who does not wish to share this information, wishes to reinstate consent, or wants more information, is asked to call 1-800-291-1406 (TTY: 1-800-268-7095).

Similarly, for people living with Diabetes, whether you have taken three key tests will be reported to your doctor as part of the new Diabetes Testing Report if you are enrolled by your doctor who must disclose your name, health number, birth date and whether you have diabetes to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

Thereafter, your doctor will be able to track whether you have taken your HbA1C blood glucose control test (every six months)
LDL-C cholesterol test, (every year)
retinal eye exam (every two years)

This is intended to help people and their doctors to better manage their diabetes and avoid complications.

If you wish to withhold your consent to this process, or want more information, you can call 1-800-291-1405 (TTY: 1-800-387-5559) or visit www.ontario.ca.diabetes
(If consent was withdrawn or withheld in spring, 2010, it does not have to be done again.)

Keywords: doctors, treatment