Privacy statement and terms of use

Northern Health is authorized to collect personal information via this website under section 26(c) of FIPPA for the purposes described below. Information is collected from our websites, either directly from you or automatically.

Unless authorized by law, any personal information that you provide will not be disclosed beyond the organization and will only be shared internally to fulfil the specific purpose for which you provided the information.

Information collected directly from you

Personal information is collected through our websites in certain circumstances, such as when you send an email message to us or complete a questionnaire, form or other online survey found on our websites.

We only use the personal information you provide to us through our websites for purposes consistent with its collection.

You should also be aware that information provided by you becomes a record of the organization and is subject to the access and privacy protection requirements set out in FIPPA.

This information may be further collected, used and disclosed in accordance with that Act or as otherwise required by law. Under this legislation you are also entitled to access and correct any of your personal information that is within our custody and control. You may make such requests by contacting the privacy representative listed on this page.

Information collected automatically

Some of our web pages use "cookies," which are small amounts of information stored by the web browser software on your computer or mobile device.

Cookies are designed to track browsing history on a website generally for the convenience of the user. They help websites "remember" what areas of a website a browser has accessed or used previously.

It's important to know that cookies are plain text files and cannot execute files or make copies of themselves. They do not carry or deliver viruses and cannot scan or retrieve your personal information.

Cookies can, however, be misused, and have become a privacy concern for some because they can be used to record and analyze an individual's broader browsing history.

The cookies we use on our websites and what we use them for are described below.

This site operates on "implied consent," which means that by visiting and clicking through the site, we assume you agree with this usage. If you do not agree, then you should not use our sites, or you can delete the cookies after visiting our sites or use your browser's anonymous usage setting (called "Incognito" in Chrome, "In Private" in Microsoft Edge, "Private Browsing" in Firefox and Safari).

There are two types of cookies – Session and Persistent.

Session cookies

Session cookie information is deleted as soon as you leave our websites. The use of temporary session cookies is solely for the purpose of allowing the user to interact with our websites in an effective manner.

Persistent cookies

In a few cases our website may use persistent cookies to store information for longer periods than the current session.

More information on cookies, what they are used for, and how to delete cookies after visiting this site can be found here. 

Analytics

Northern Health uses Google Analytics (GA4), a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (Google).

Google Analytics uses first-party cookies to track visitor interactions. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information so that we may evaluate your use of this website, compile reports on website activity for the website operators and provide other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law or where such third parties process the information on Google's behalf.

In GA4, IP anonymization is automatically enabled by default. Google Analytics will automatically mask user IP addresses before they're processed or stored.

You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser - however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website.

Website visitors who do not want to be tracked by Google Analytics can download the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. The add-on communicates with the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js) to indicate that information about the website visit should not be sent to Google Analytics. The Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on does not prevent information from being sent to the website itself or to other web analytics services.

For more information visit the Google Analytics overview page.

Safeguards

Northern Health is obligated to protect your personal information by making reasonable security arrangements against such risks as unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure or disposal. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day operating practices as part of Northern Health’s continuing commitment to the protection of personal information it holds.

Social media moderation, terms of service and data/privacy policies.

We welcome participation in discussions, but we believe people should feel respected and safe on our channels, as well as be protected from misinformation, harmful advice, advice that is not evidence-based, or spam. We also expect conversations to follow the conventions of polite discourse so that everyone feels welcome to participate.

To support these objectives, NH social media moderators will use moderation options provided by the platforms to moderate content that interferes with these objectives, such as (without limitation):

• Content that contains profanity or is discriminatory, hateful, defamatory, racist, sexist, or obscene.
• Content that breaches employee or patient privacy.
• Content that contains personal attacks beyond the expectations of civil discourse.
• Content that unreasonably invades anyone’s privacy.
• Content that describes personal health information or situations.
• Content that impersonates anyone.
• Content that spreads misinformation, disproven medical claims, or harmful advice.
• Content that constitutes spam or promotes services or products not approved by NH.
• Off-topic content that has no relevance to the topic at hand or interferes with the conversation.
• Content that encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offence or give rise to civil liability, or that otherwise violates any applicable laws, regulations, or treaties.
• Content that is contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
• Content that is deemed to be spam or any form of advertisement.

NH moderation options include, but are not limited to, hiding, or deleting posts and turning off comments. Where other options have failed, moderation may involve blocking or banning users’ profiles.

If you have questions about this moderation policy or how we apply it, please contact: HealthPromotions@NorthernHealth.ca.

Monitoring hours

NH social media channels are generally monitored during regular business hours, Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm PST, with partial coverage on weekends and holidays. We will do our best to respond to posts within a timely manner.

Media

Media inquiries are not responded to on NH social media channels. For media inquiries about NH or its programs and services, call the media line at 250-961-7724, or email Media@NorthernHealth.ca.

Medical advice

Medical advice will not be provided through social media.

Care complaints

If you have a complaint about a NH service or program, please contact the Patient Care Quality Office via email: Patientcarequalityoffice@northernhealth.ca.

Complaints about NH staff and programs posted to social media will be reported or removed if they violate any of the conditions listed in the NH Social Media Moderation Policy and commenters may be banned from NH social media channels.

Retweets (RTs), quotes, shares, likes

Retweets, shared posts, liked posts and quoted posts do not imply endorsement on the part of NH. We may like, share, or quote news, links, and personal observations we believe are relevant to the work we do. A like, share or quote should not be taken as explicit endorsement of any position or argument that may vary from NH’s official position.

Following

Our decision to follow a particular social media user does not imply endorsement of any kind.

How we protect and use the personal information

NH’s collection, use, disclosure, and retention of information complies with the provisions of the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). Collected information is used only by authorized NH staff to fulfil the purpose for which it was originally collected.

We will not sell or trade any personally identifiable information that may be collected from our websites and will not disclose such information to third parties except as authorized by law.

When you send us email via our website, your message is stored as business correspondence accessible only to authorized NH website staff.

Privacy

To protect your privacy, and the privacy of others, please do not include any personal information including telephone numbers, email addresses, or personal health information in comments. In addition, please do not share personal information about others, including pictures or videos, unless you have obtained consent to do so.

All content posted will be received with the assumption that the person who posted it holds all necessary rights to that content.

Terms of service

In accordance with the terms of service and data/privacy policies of social media platforms, this document serves as notice that by posting comments to any NH social media account you are consenting to the collection of the information you provide. Furthermore, by using or accessing a social media platform, you agree with the contents of their terms of service and data/privacy policy as updated from time to time. Please be aware that any information collected may be stored and/or accessed outside of Canada on servers that do not belong to NH.

In respect of personal information posted to any NH social media account, subsection 26(c) of the BC FIPPA authorizes the collection of this information by a program of the Northern Health Authority for the purposes of engaging and consulting with the public.

NH is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or reliability of content posted by others on social media channels. If a third party uses this content, they will agree to indemnify and hold NH harmless from all third-party claims, demands, actions or costs arising out of use of these sites.

NH social media channels are managed by NH employees who post news, announcements and other items of interest for the public. Please note: If you comment on a post, share it, like it or otherwise engage with it, your personal identifiable information will be visible to other visitors. The amount of visible personal information displayed will depend on the platform and your privacy settings.

You can review your personal settings as well as the terms of service for each platform here:

• Facebook terms of service
• Facebook data policy
• Instagram terms of use
• Instagram data policy
• X terms of service
• X privacy policy
• LinkedIn user agreement
• LinkedIn privacy policy
• YouTube terms of service
• Google privacy policy