Updated: March 2025

Saskatoon Co-op respects the privacy rights of our customers and recognizes the importance of ensuring that confidential information is safeguarded and protected.

This document describes how Saskatoon Co-op Pharmacies collect, use, and disclose information when providing healthcare services.

Collection, Use, Retention, & Destruction of Personal Health Information:

Saskatoon Co-op has robust policies and procedures to ensure compliance with provincial and federal privacy legislation. All pharmacies are bound by the Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) and Regulations (HIPR) and will only collect health information for the purpose of providing pharmaceutical care to customers. Each pharmacy has a designated individual accountable for compliance with The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and it’s Ten Privacy Principles.

Saskatoon Co-op does not use or disclose personal information for reasons other than the specific purpose for which it was originally collected. This includes, but is not limited to, advising and providing customers with products, services, and health-related advice.

Personal health information collected by our pharmacies includes your legal name, date of birth, address, phone number, medical conditions, medical allergies, and medication history. This information is required for our pharmacies to safely provide healthcare services to you.

Saskatoon Co-op has policies and procedures in place to ensure compliance with record retention and destruction requirements from provincial and federal legislative bodies,

Sharing of Personal Health Information:

Our pharmacies may share personal health information with other healthcare professionals involved in your care. With your consent, they may also share your information with third parties, such as insurance providers and health claim adjudicators.
Pharmacies in Saskatchewan are required to share health information with eHealth Saskatchewan, including, but not limited to, the Pharmaceutical Information Program (PIP), the Drug Plan and Extended Benefits Branch (DPEBB), and Saskatchewan Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Saskatoon Co-op Pharmacies must abide by this requirement, and personal health information is transmitted to eHealth Saskatchewan on a regular basis without explicit consent.

For more information about privacy related to eHealth Saskatchewan, please click here or speak to a pharmacy team member.

Consent:

In Canada, healthcare professionals are permitted to share and use personal health information without consent in situations deemed to be emergencies. In all other circumstances, implied or expressed consent will always be obtained prior to pharmacy services being offered at Saskatoon Co-op.

Pharmacy services cannot be provided to any person unwilling to provide the necessary information required for our pharmacies to safely provide health services. In addition, the transmission of information to eHealth Saskatchewan cannot be bypassed and any request to do so will be denied. Should a customer advise that they do not want their information shared on eHealth, Saskatoon Co-op will not be able to provide health services to this individual.

Training & Education:

All pharmacy staff undergo vigorous privacy training prior to accessing confidential or personal health information at Saskatoon Co-op. Privacy policies and procedures are reviewed by all pharmacy staff annually at a minimum, and staff have a legal and ethical responsibility to protect patient information.

Quality Assurance:

Saskatoon Co-op is committed to providing safe and quality pharmaceutical care to our customers, and each of our pharmacies participate in continuous improvement programs. When privacy related incidents occur, our pharmacy teams will contact impacted individuals, review their procedures and complete a root cause analysis to determine causative factors. This enables our teams to make improvements and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Questions:

Please direct any questions or communications to one of our pharmacies or to the Saskatoon Co-op Administration Office:

Saskatoon Co-operative Association Limited
201 503 Wellman Crescent, Saskatoon, SK S7T 0J1
306-933-3801 | admin@saskatooncoop.ca