jswizzle3737/ontario_laws_and_regs huggingface dataset:
3 The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act does not apply to quality of care information.
4 (1) Nothing in this Act interferes with a requirement under applicable law for a health facility or health care provider to, (a)  offer to interview a patient or the authorized representative of the patient or the patient’s estate in any review of an incident or circumstances involving the provision of health care to the patient; (b)  include a person responsible for patient relations or providing patient perspectives to the facility on a committee or other similar body conducting any review of a critical incident; or (c)  disclose information specified under the applicable law that is related to a critical incident to a patient or the authorized representative of the patient or the patient’s estate. Authorized representative (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the authorized representative of a patient includes a person who was lawfully authorized to make treatment decisions on behalf of the patient immediately prior to the patient’s death, or who would have been so authorized if the patient had been incapable.
5 In the event of a conflict between a provision of this Act or its regulations and a provision of any other Act or its regulations, this Act and its regulations prevail unless this Act or its regulations specifically provide otherwise.
6 Where a regulation has been made restricting or prohibiting the use of a quality of care committee for the purpose of reviewing critical incidents, every quality of care committee and health facility shall comply with that regulation.
7 Quality of care information collected by or for a quality of care committee while it is constituted and operating in accordance with this Act shall continue to be treated as quality of care information after, (a)  the quality of care committee by or for which the information was collected is no longer in operation; or (b)  a health facility or entity that established, appointed or approved the quality of care committee is no longer eligible to establish, appoint or approve a quality of care committee.
8 (1) Despite this Act and the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, a person may disclose any information to a quality of care committee for the purposes of carrying out quality of care functions. Disclosure among committees (2) Any quality of care committee may disclose any information, including quality of care information, to any other quality of care committee for the purpose of carrying out quality of care functions, and any person may disclose information that has been disclosed to any quality of care committee to any other quality of care committee. Restriction, personal health information (3) A disclosure permitted under this section shall not contain more personal health information, as defined in the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, than is reasonably necessary for the purpose of the disclosure.
9 (1) Despite the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, no person shall disclose quality of care information except as permitted by this Act. Definition (2) In this section, “management”, with respect to a health facility, includes members of the senior management staff, the board of directors, governors or trustees and members of the commission or other governing body or authority of the facility. Exception, quality of care committee (3) Despite subsection (1) and the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, a quality of care committee may disclose quality of care information to, (a)  the management of a health facility that established, appointed or approved the committee if the committee considers it appropriate to do so for the purpose of improving or maintaining the quality of health care provided in or by the facility; or (b)  the management of a health facility or health care provider, where a quality oversight entity carries on activities for the purpose of improving or maintaining the quality of health care provided by the facility, the provider or a class including the facility or the provider, if the committee considers it appropriate to do so for the purpose of improving or maintaining the quality of health care provided in or by the facility, provider or class. Exception, any person (4) Despite subsection (1) and the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, a person may disclose quality of care information if the disclosure is necessary for the purposes of eliminating or reducing a significant risk of serious bodily harm to a person or group of persons. Further disclosure of information (5) A member of the management of a health facility or health care provider described in subsection (3) to whom quality of care information is disclosed under that subsection may disclose the information to an agent or employee of the facility or provider if the disclosure is necessary for the purposes of improving or maintaining the quality of health care provided in or by the facility or provider. Use of information (6) A person to whom information is disclosed under subsection (3), (4) or (5) shall not use the information except for the purposes for which the information was disclosed to the person. Restriction on further disclosure (7) A person to whom information is disclosed under subsection (3), (4) or (5) shall not disclose the information except if subsection (4) or (5) permits the disclosure. Restriction, personal health information (8) A disclosure permitted under this section shall not contain more personal health information, as defined in the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, than is reasonably necessary for the purpose of the disclosure.
10 (1) No person shall ask a witness and no court or other body holding a proceeding shall permit or require a witness in the proceeding to disclose quality of care information. Non-admissibility of evidence (2) Quality of care information is not admissible in evidence in a proceeding.
11 No one shall dismiss, suspend, demote, discipline, harass or otherwise disadvantage a person by reason that the person has disclosed information to a quality of care committee under section 8.
12 (1) Every person who contravenes section 9 or 11 is guilty of an offence. Penalty (2) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable, on conviction, (a)  to a fine of not more than $50,000, if the person is an individual; or (b)  to a fine of not more than $250,000, if the person is a corporation. Officers, etc. (3) If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, every officer, member, employee or other agent of the corporation who authorized the offence, or who had the authority to prevent the offence from being committed but knowingly refrained from doing so, is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable, on conviction, to the penalty for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.
13 (1) No action or other proceeding may be instituted against a person who in good faith discloses information to a quality of care committee at the request of the committee or for the purposes of assisting the committee in carrying out quality of care functions. Same, committee member (2) No action or other proceeding, including a prosecution for an offence under section 12, may be instituted in respect of, (a)  a member of a quality of care committee who, in good faith, discloses quality of care information for a purpose described in subsection 9 (3); or (b)  a person who, in good faith, discloses information for a purpose described in subsection 9 (4), if the disclosure is reasonable in the circumstances. Same, failure to disclose (3) No action or other proceeding may be instituted against a member of a committee in respect of the failure of the committee to make a disclosure described in subsection 9 (3) or (4).
14 Within five years of the coming into force of this section, and at five-year intervals thereafter, the Minister shall conduct a review of this Act.
15 (1) Subject to section 16, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations, (a)  defining any term used in this Act that is not defined in this Act; (b)  subject to subsection (2), governing anything that this Act refers to as being prescribed, provided for or specified in the regulations; (c)  for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act. Minister’s regulations (2) The Minister may make regulations, (a)  prescribing anything that the definition of “health care”, “health facility” or “quality of care committee” in subsection 2 (1) mentions as being prescribed; (b)  restricting or prohibiting the use of quality of care committees for the purpose of reviewing critical incidents.