1.0 General information about this notice
This Healthcare Services Privacy Notice applies when a regulated health professional providing healthcare services through or on behalf of Loblaw or Shoppers Drug Mart collects, uses, or discloses personal information, including personal health information, in connection with healthcare services. In this Notice, we refer to these regulated health professionals collectively as “healthcare providers”. Healthcare providers include pharmacists, nurses, physicians, physiotherapists and other regulated health professionals.
This Notice also applies to other health-related professional services provided by or on behalf of Loblaw or our affiliated health businesses, and to the collection, use, or disclosure of healthcare information to provide support, documentation, management, payment for services, or comply with legal or professional obligations relating to healthcare services provided by a healthcare provider.
In this notice, “healthcare Information” relates to identifying information that is collected, used, maintained or disclosed in connection with the provision of healthcare and other related professional services. Where the information qualifies as personal health information under applicable health privacy legislation, it will be collected, used, disclosed, retained and protected in accordance with that legislation.
This notice does not apply to consumer health data, which is addressed in the Consumer Health Privacy Notice.
2.0 Collection of healthcare information
Your healthcare provider may collect healthcare information directly from you or from a person authorized to act on your behalf, for example, a caregiver or power of attorney. Your healthcare information may also be collected from other sources where permitted or required by law.
Healthcare information includes your name, date of birth, contact information, health conditions, prescription and medical history, physical or mental health information, healthcare services received, treatment or care information, medications, eligibility for or payment of healthcare services, the name and contact information of your prescribing or referring healthcare provider, and the name and contact information of any authorized agent acting on your behalf, for example, a caregiver. Healthcare information also includes other information about your health or healthcare that is collected in connection with the services you receive from a healthcare provider.
When necessary, your healthcare provider may need to speak to your physician and other healthcare providers within your circle of care to obtain or share the information they need to support your care and meet applicable professional, legal or regulatory obligations.
For more information on how your healthcare information is collected, please visit the Loblaw Privacy Policy and review the section “What type of personal information do we collect, and how?” or refer to any of the privacy statements or notices that are posted, displayed, or otherwise made available to you at the time of receiving a healthcare service or upon request.
3.0 How your healthcare information may be used
Your healthcare information is used in connection with providing, supporting and managing healthcare and other related professional services to you, which may include:
Managing your patient record, including medications dispensed and services or treatments provided
Communicating with you regarding your prescriptions, including prescription refills and automatic refill services, upcoming appointments, and other care-related information and reminders;
Booking and managing your pharmacy and healthcare appointments;
Dispensing your medications and providing initial and, where appropriate, ongoing counseling with respect to your prescription(s);
Providing pharmacy professional services and, where appropriate, providing knowledge, information, and counseling in connection with such services, such as immunization information, adaptation of prescriptions, initiation of prescriptions, and medication reviews;
Recommending care-related programs, products, services, or events that may help support your healthcare needs;
Consulting with healthcare providers where available, including through chat functionality;
When you choose to, making your healthcare information available through your Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw online pharmacy account to manage your prescriptions;
Providing pharmacy or other healthcare-service capabilities online or through mobile applications;
Delivering other professional services, including primary care, rehabilitation services and treatments;
Assisting healthcare providers as needed;
Responding to requests made by, or on behalf of, your insurance provider to review your insurance claim(s);
Using AI tools, where appropriate, to assist in the delivery, documentation, and management of pharmacy and other healthcare services;
Obtaining and processing payments for prescriptions and healthcare services, including facilitating payment assistance and supporting claims adjudication, where applicable;
Monitoring and investigating incidents and managing claims;
If requested, referring you to other healthcare providers, such as our nurses, nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, or other healthcare providers; and
Performing our obligations in accordance with, or complying with, applicable healthcare-related professional, legal, or regulatory requirements.
4.0 How may your healthcare information be shared
When you are provided with healthcare and other related professional services, your healthcare information may be shared with your healthcare providers and authorized representative(s) as reasonably required to provide the service. Your healthcare information may also be shared with others but only with your consent, as detailed in this Notice and the Loblaw Privacy Policy, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.
For example:
If you fill a prescription order in one of our pharmacies, your Shoppers Drug Mart or Loblaw pharmacist may share your healthcare information with your federal or provincial drug benefit program, private health insurance provider, or other health claim adjudicator, payment assistance program or provider, or other relevant third party as necessary to process your claim or support payment assistance.
We may also de-identify or aggregate your healthcare information so that it cannot be reasonably associated with you and use and disclose that information for research and analytics purposes, including to improve the services provided to you and to support related research projects and publications. We will only share identifiable healthcare information about you with third parties, including academic or research institutions for these purposes if we have your consent or where permitted or required by law.
For example:
We may partner with academic institutions such as universities to perform clinical research on trends in the pharmaceutical industry.
For more information on how your healthcare information is used, please visit the Loblaw Privacy Policy and review the section “How do we share personal information?” or refer to any of the privacy statements or notices that are made available to you at the time of receiving a healthcare service or upon request.
5.0 Disclosure without consent
In specific limited circumstances, Canadian law requires or permits us to disclose your healthcare information without your consent, such as where reasonably necessary to protect healthcare providers, employees, customers, or others.
6.0 Service providers
In the course of providing our programs, products, and services, your healthcare information may be shared with service providers. These service providers help us operate our business, technology systems and applications, internal procedures, and infrastructure. Our service providers are required to limit their access to and/or use of your healthcare information to that which is necessary to provide their services, and to otherwise comply with our privacy requirements.
7.0 Your privacy choices
The healthcare information that your healthcare providers collect is information that they need to provide healthcare and other related services to you. If you choose not to provide your healthcare provider with certain information or if you withdraw your consent, where such withdrawal is available, you may not be able to receive certain healthcare services. For more information on what privacy choices are available to you, please discuss this directly with your healthcare provider.
8.0 Digital Health Platform
The Digital Health Platform is a health and wellness platform, accessible to eligible users through PC Health, Shoppers Drug Mart, or Pharmaprix mobile applications or online by Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. and its affiliates. With your authorization and consent, your healthcare information may be disclosed by your healthcare providers to Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. and its affiliates (for the purpose of providing you with enhanced health and wellness services through the Digital Health Platform). These health and wellness services may include personalized health-related insights, proactive support for managing your health, and tailored offers and services, and other information related to health programs which may be relevant to you. For more information, see the Consumer Health Privacy Notice.
9.0 Health services provided on behalf of third parties
Some of our companies, including Lifemark Health Group, Specialty Health Network by Shoppers Drug Mart and MediSystem Pharmacy, may provide healthcare and other related services on behalf of third parties, such as drug manufacturers, long-term care homes and employers (“Clients”). For example: Specialty Health Network by Shoppers contracts with drug manufacturers to administer patient support programs on the manufacturer’s behalf for patients with complex needs.
10.0 How do we collect, use and disclose Client personal information?
We will only collect, use and disclose Client healthcare information to perform the healthcare and other related services in accordance with our contract with our Client. As between us and our Clients, the Client owns and controls Client healthcare information. We acquire no rights in or custody or control over the Client information, except to the extent necessary to perform the services and in accordance with our contract with the Client and applicable laws.
11.0 Who can you contact with questions about this notice?
If you have privacy questions relating to the Healthcare Services Privacy Notice, you can contact, as applicable:
Loblaw Privacy Office at loblawprivacy@loblaw.ca(Open in a new tab)
The Lifemark Privacy Officer at privacyofficer@lifemark.ca (Open in a new tab)
