In light of the global COVID-19 crisis, majority of the world
and its businesses have instantaneously inherited the need to
become more digital. While things like working from home, online
classes, virtual healthcare, and grocery deliveries are quickly
becoming the norm, Ontario's leaders and legislators have been
hard at work amending various Provincial statutes that the Ontario
Government felt needed to be updated and modernized. The result,
Bill 188 – The Economic and Fiscal Update Act,
2020.
In particular, Schedule 6 of Bill 188 has made various
amendments to Ontario's Personal Health Information
Protection Act,2004 (PHIPA), which governs how healthcare
providers, specifically Health Information Custodians (HICs)
collect, use, and disclose personal health information (PHI).