Personal Information Protection and Confidentiality

At Homewood Human Solutions™, we are dedicated to protecting your privacy and safeguarding the personal information entrusted to us. Protecting your privacy and safeguarding your personal information is a cornerstone of our business and will always be one of our highest priorities.

Homewood Human Solutions™ follows comprehensive privacy policies and security practices in compliance with legal obligations and to support our commitment of confidentiality and integrity in everything we do.

Homewood Human Solutions™’ Personal Information Protection and Confidentiality Policy

Homewood Human Solutions™ collects personal information for the purpose of providing services to employees and family members of the organizations we contract with. Whether you contact our customer service centre, consult one of our professionals, or use our website, we will keep all personal information you entrust to us strictly confidential. In compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA, Canada), the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (Quebec law), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA, US) along with our professionals' codes of ethics, we will protect the personal information entrusted to us through various control measures which includes:

• Information provided by and about clients is kept in dedicated individual files which are stored in a highly secure manner accessible only by authorized personnel.
• Our administrative personnel undergo an independent security screening prior to employment and have restricted access to information on a need-to-know basis.
• Any breaches to our confidentiality and privacy policy by staff members are sanctioned, including immediate and definitive dismissal.
• Billing information and statistics sent to organizations regarding program usage does not contain identifiable information ensuring that the privacy, anonymity and confidentiality of specific users are protected.
• Information about participation in and/or anything discussed in the course of service is not shared with anyone without the person’s written, informed consent.
• Homewood Human Solutions™ is, however, legally and ethically obligated to divulge certain information in any of the following situations:
  1. There is a need to intervene to prevent serious harm to an individual or others (e.g., imminent threat or risk of suicidal and/or homicidal behaviour).
  2. There is suspicion that a child is or may be in need of protection from current or potential physical abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect.
  3. Records are subpoenaed by a court of law.
  4. There is a need to report a health professional where there is reason to believe that they are not working in accordance with the standards of the Regulated Health Professions Act.

  Client Services Centre

  Our Client Services Centre representatives undergo an independent security screening prior to their employment with Homewood Human Solutions. Comprehensive and ongoing training and supervision is provided in regards to personal information protection and confidentiality. Access to client information is restricted to only that which is needed to perform their duties.

  Professional Services

  • All Homewood Human Solutions™’ professionals are members of a regulated professional association / body of governance, and are obliged to keep your counselling process strictly confidential, in compliance with their code of ethics and relevant legislation.
  • Counselling services are provided away from the worksite, and can be offered before or after work hours if necessary.
  • Professionals are contractually bound not to book back-to-back appointments with employees/family members from the same organization.
  • Homewood Human Solutions™’ professionals are accountable for the maintenance of your records, as per both the professional standards that are applicable in the region where they practice and Homewood Human Solutions’ standards.
  • When necessary to transmit information, professionals utilize a secure website. When they have to revert to fax or mail to transmit such information, your name and/or any other identifiable information is not transmitted.

  Website

  • Unless you open a session in the secure Member Area, we do not solicit or keep any information about you when you browse the public-access areas of our website. We use "cookies" only to rapidly display pages you have already consulted and to make our website more user-friendly for you. We never use cookies to compile information about you without your knowledge.
  • Our Member Area is totally secured, using technology similar to what is used to secure online banking, as confirmed by the little lock that appears in the lower right corner of your browser when you use our site and by the https:// prefix which shows in your browser’s address bar as soon as you can send information to us. This means that as soon as you start to register in this area or open a session, all the information you submit to us is encrypted in a virtual tunnel that makes access to it impossible.
  • When you first register to our Member Area, we ask you to provide certain personal information to verify your eligibility for the service and to open an on-line service file in your name. Once your eligibility has been established, we assign you a user name (which cannot be changed) and a password (which you can change at any time). This combination of a user name and a password allows you to access the Member Area as often as you wish. It is yours alone, and is your personal access key. Like any other access key, we suggest that you memorize it. If, however, you want to keep a record of it somewhere, we recommend that you do so in a safe place, and that you do not keep both your user name and your password in the same place.
  • Our Member Area uses a technology that enables us to relate members (and their organization) to the different services they have used. Without ever citing individuals' names or other identifying information, we use this capability to report to your organization on the use of our services (type and number used during a given time period) and, when necessary, to justify our fees. Once again, none of your personal information is ever relayed to your organization or to a third party.
  • We never send information by email unless you have expressly provided us consent to do so.
  • As our Internet server is located in Canada, the information contained within cannot be consulted by a third party under the Patriot Act (an American law established to combat terrorism).

    If you have any questions about our Personal Information Protection & Confidentiality Policy, feel free to contact us directly or ask your Homewood Human Solutions™’ professional.