What PHIPA actually expects of your IT.
PHIPA does not list specific software or vendors. It describes outcomes. Translating those outcomes into IT controls is where most clinics need help.
Common gaps we see.
Everyone has the same login or admin access
Shared accounts make audit logs meaningless and make termination of access impossible. We rebuild around individual accounts and least-privilege defaults, without breaking how the clinic actually works day-to-day.
Backups exist but nobody has ever restored from them
A backup that has never been restored is a guess, not a control. We run a real restore into a separate environment, validate it, and put that test on a calendar so it happens again.
Patient information leaves through unsecured email
Standard email is not safe for sending records. We set up secure file delivery, secure email options, and clear staff guidance so the easy path is also the compliant one.
No documented breach response
If something goes wrong, the clinic needs to know who calls whom, what to preserve, and what to report. We provide a short written plan tailored to the clinic, ready before it is ever needed.
PHIPA review, end to end.
We start by listing the systems that hold or transmit patient information: EMR, imaging, billing, email, file storage, backups, and any third-party services. For each one, we document who has access, how access is granted and revoked, where data is stored, how it is backed up, and how it is protected in transit.
You receive a written report that names what is already in place, what is missing, and what the priority order is for fixing the gaps. The report is suitable for sharing with a privacy officer, a regulator, or a cyber insurer, and it gives you a clear starting point if you want Medibyte to do the implementation work or hand the report to another provider.
More medical clinic IT.
PHIPA questions clinics ask us.
The Personal Health Information Protection Act is Ontario's privacy law for health information. It tells healthcare custodians (clinics, hospitals, individual practitioners) how patient records can be collected, used, kept, and shared, and what to do if any of that goes wrong. The IT side of PHIPA is the practical controls that make those rules enforceable.
In practice it means access controls so only the right staff can see the right records, encrypted backups stored somewhere that survives a fire at the clinic, audit logging so it is possible to see who looked at what, and written procedures for what happens if there is a breach. None of this is exotic but it does need to be set up deliberately rather than left at default.
Not automatically, but the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario can investigate, order corrective action, and refer matters for prosecution. A clinic that can show what controls were in place and how the breach was responded to is in a much better position than one that cannot. The documentation matters as much as the controls.
Yes. We walk through your current IT setup against the practical PHIPA requirements, document what is in place, identify the gaps, and put a plan together to close them. The output is something a privacy officer can use directly, not a generic checklist.
Get a PHIPA-focused IT review for your clinic.
A written report on what is in place, what is missing, and the priority order for fixing the gaps. Suitable for a privacy officer, regulator, or insurer.
or send a message