The Provincial Health Registry
Saskatchewan Health maintains the Provincial Health Registry. This registry
contains electronic information about current and former Saskatchewan residents
who/ were entitled to receive insured health services from the province, such
as physician visits and hospital stays. The registry also includes information
about individuals applying to become beneficiaries of the provincial health insurance
scheme.
The registry includes each beneficiary’s full name, address, telephone
number(s), date of birth, gender, marital status, Health Services Number, family
unit members, family number, level of coverage, coverage effective and expiry
dates, alternate personal identification document numbers (e.g. former province
health card, driver’s license, birth certificate, passport, Canada visa,
Indian Registry number), and contact name.
The registry is used by the Department to:
- verify a person’s eligibility for insured services which includes paying
for physician visits and hospital stays;
- issue and distribute health cards and validation stickers;
- make payments to health professionals for public programs such as the Saskatchewan
Prescription Drug Plan and physician services;
- establish prescription drug plan deductibles for eligible families;
- conduct research; and
- verify residency for health programs and services such as immunization, acquired
brain injury and changes of name.
Saskatchewan Health takes seriously the privacy and confidentiality of your
personal health information in its custody. When making decisions about disclosing
health registry information to other organizations, the Department first determines
if there is a legal authority to release the information. If a legislated authority
exists, the Department then considers whether the organization needs to know the
information and will ensure that only staff who have a need to know have access
to that information. Saskatchewan Health also uses established policies and/or
practices to support its decisions for use and disclosure of your registry information.
When Saskatchewan health care providers, other Provincial Departments or Federal
Government Departments or Agencies request a disclosure of the provincial health
registry information, the Department considers the disclosure provisions of The
Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) and the organization’s need
to know the registry information. In most cases, these organizations are requesting
verification that an individual is eligible for insured health services or is
a resident of Saskatchewan. Health care providers such as ambulance operators,
medical laboratories and medical clinics make this type of request in order to
receive payment for the services they provide.
Examples of provincial non-health programs that make this type of request
would be post-secondary student financial assistance programs, the student registration
and tracking programs, and the agriculture rebate/subsidy programs. Saskatchewan
Health also provides organizations such as Citizenship and Immigration Canada
with this type of information to assist with confirming residency and eligibility
for insured services.
Other organizations may be provided with provincial health registry information
on a case-by-case basis. Law firms, private insurers and funeral homes, for example,
must provide a written request for the information. In these situations, the Department
determines whether the individual in question has given consent to release the
information to the organization and if this is not present, determines whether
HIPA has provided a legal authority for the disclosure.
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