Help Now Healthcare Inc.
Effective Date: March 31, 2021
Last Updated: September 22, 2026
1. Our Commitment to Privacy
Help Now Healthcare Inc. is committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality and security of personal information and personal health information.
Help Now Healthcare Inc. is a federally incorporated Canadian company providing home care and healthcare staffing in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Because we operate in more than one province, more than one privacy law applies to us. We comply with:
- Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) — federal law, which applies to our handling of personal information across provincial and national borders.
- Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) — Ontario, for personal health information.
- Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) — British Columbia.
- Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) — Alberta.
Where the laws of more than one jurisdiction apply to the same information, we apply the standard that offers the individual the greatest protection.
2. Who Holds Your Health Information, and Under Which Law
Help Now Healthcare operates two lines of business, and the answer differs between them. It determines who is accountable for your information.
Home care delivered by us
Where we provide care directly in your home, Help Now Healthcare Inc. is the health information custodian under PHIPA. We are responsible for the personal health information we collect about you, how it is used, who it is shared with and how it is protected. Our Privacy Officer (section 13) is the designated contact person for that information.
Staffing supplied to a hospital, home or clinic
Where we assign our staff to work at a hospital, long-term care home, retirement home or clinic, that organization remains the health information custodian, and its systems, safeguards and policies govern the records our staff handle there. Our staff act as agents of that custodian — for its purposes and under its policies — and are bound by its privacy rules as well as ours. PHIPA treats information handled by an agent in that way as a use by the custodian, and the custodian remains responsible for compliance. Our staff are trained to follow the privacy policies of the site they are assigned to, and to raise concerns through that organization’s privacy contact as well as ours.
Employment and inquiry information
Information you send us that is not personal health information — a job application, a general inquiry, or your contact details — is handled under PIPEDA and, where they apply, the British Columbia and Alberta PIPA.
3. Information We Collect
We may collect personal information including:
- Name, phone number, email and other contact details
- Service inquiries and communication records
- Billing and administrative information
For home care services, we may collect personal health information such as:
- Care needs, health conditions and risks
- Care plans and service requirements
We also collect limited website data, such as IP address, browser type and usage information, for analytics, security and website performance (see section 11). Information collected through telephone calls and text messages is described in section 12.
We limit what we collect to what is necessary for the purposes we have identified.
4. How We Use Information
We use information to:
- Provide and coordinate home care services
- Facilitate healthcare staffing and placements
- Communicate with clients, families and partners
- Manage scheduling, billing and operations
- Meet legal and regulatory requirements
We collect and use information only for purposes a reasonable person would consider appropriate. We do not sell personal information.
5. Consent
By using our website or services, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your information as described in this policy. Where required, we will obtain your express consent.
Where an individual is unable to provide consent, we may rely on a legally authorized substitute decision-maker in accordance with Ontario law.
You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting our Privacy Officer (section 13), subject to legal and contractual restrictions.
6. Disclosure of Information
Information may be shared with:
- Authorized staff and contractors
- Healthcare providers and facilities
- Family members or authorized representatives
- Service providers supporting our operations
- Authorities where required by law
Personal health information may be shared within the “circle of care” for the purpose of providing healthcare in accordance with PHIPA. Disclosure is limited to the minimum amount of information necessary.
Service providers. We use service providers to operate parts of our business, including our telephone and text messaging system, our live chat, and our website analytics. Where a service provider handles information on our behalf, we require by contract that it protect the information to a comparable standard and use it only for the purposes we specify.
Information stored outside Canada. Some of our service providers store or process information outside Canada, including in the United States and the European Union. Where that happens, the information is subject to the laws of that country and may be accessible to its courts, law enforcement and national security authorities. If you would like to know more about the service providers we use, please contact our Privacy Officer (section 13).
7. Safeguards and Information Security
We protect personal information and personal health information with administrative, technical and physical safeguards appropriate to its sensitivity.
Administrative. Everyone who works for us — employees, assigned staff and contractors — signs a confidentiality agreement and receives privacy and security training appropriate to their role. Access to records is granted on a least-privilege, need-to-know basis, and is removed when a person’s role changes or ends. Our Privacy Officer is accountable for these practices.
Technical. This website and every form on it are served over an encrypted connection (HTTPS/TLS). Accounts used to reach personal information are individually assigned rather than shared, are protected by access controls, and are kept current with security updates. We use malware protection on the systems we control, and we limit the copying of records onto unmanaged devices.
Physical. Paper records and devices holding personal information are kept in locked or access-controlled storage.
What we ask of you. No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. Please do not send detailed health information, identification numbers or financial information by ordinary email. We will never ask you for a password, and we will never ask for payment card details by email or text message.
Reporting a security concern. If you believe your information has been exposed, or you have found a security weakness in this website, please contact our Privacy Officer (section 13) so we can investigate.
8. Retention
We keep information only as long as necessary for service delivery, legal obligations and business operations. Retention periods are set according to legal, regulatory and operational requirements, and information is securely destroyed or anonymized when it is no longer required.
9. Your Rights
You may ask to see the personal information and personal health information we hold about you, and to have it corrected if it is inaccurate or incomplete. If we cannot agree to a correction, we will tell you why and record your statement of disagreement.
We may need to verify your identity before processing a request. Access may be limited where the law permits or requires it. We will respond within 30 days, or within any extended period the law allows, in which case we will tell you.
There is no charge to ask a question, make a complaint or make a straightforward request. A reasonable fee may apply to larger requests where the law permits it.
Please help us keep your information accurate by telling us when it changes.
10. Privacy Breach
If personal information or personal health information in our custody is lost or stolen, or is used or disclosed without authority, we contain the incident, investigate it, take steps to reduce the risk of harm, and address the cause so it does not happen again.
Personal health information (PHIPA). Where we are the health information custodian, we will notify the affected individual at the first reasonable opportunity and tell them that they may make a complaint to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. We report breaches to the Commissioner in the circumstances required by PHIPA and its regulations, and we provide the Commissioner with an annual report of the number of breaches that occurred in the previous calendar year.
Other personal information (PIPEDA). Where a breach of security safeguards creates a real risk of significant harm to an individual, we will report it to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and notify the affected individuals as soon as feasible, and we will notify any other organization that may be able to reduce the risk of harm. We keep a record of every breach of security safeguards, whether or not it was reportable, for at least 24 months.
Staffing assignments. Where an incident involves records held by a facility our staff are assigned to, that facility is the custodian. We report the incident to it promptly so that it can meet its own notification obligations.
11. Cookies, Analytics and Live Chat
Cookies and analytics
We use cookies and similar technologies to keep this website working, to keep it secure, and to understand how it is used. Cookies that are not strictly necessary are set only after you accept them, and you can change your choice at any time using the Cookie settings link in our footer or through your browser settings.
Our website analytics are provided by third-party providers. They receive limited technical information such as your IP address, your browser and device type, the pages you view, and how you reached our website. They do not receive your name, your contact details or any health information.
Live chat
Our live chat window is operated for us by a third-party provider. When it loads, it places a cookie on your device so that a conversation can continue as you move between pages. When you open a chat, the provider receives your IP address, your browser and device information, the pages you have viewed on our website, and anything you type into the chat.
Please do not type health or medical information into the live chat. Live chat is not a secure channel for personal health information, and it is not a way to obtain medical advice, a diagnosis or a care recommendation. Please use it only to give us your name, a telephone number and the type of support you are looking for, and a member of our team will contact you directly. If you need to speak with someone now, call us at 1-888-507-6236. If this is a medical emergency, call 911.
Chat transcripts are held by the provider until we delete them, and copies may remain in its backups for a limited period after deletion. You may ask us to delete a chat transcript by contacting our Privacy Officer (section 13).
You are never required to use live chat. You can reach us by telephone, by email or through the contact form on this website instead.
12. Telephone Calls, Text Messages and Our Automated Assistant
Calls are recorded. When you call our main line at 1-888-507-6236, your call is recorded and a written transcript and summary are produced. We tell you this at the start of every call. By continuing with the call, you consent to this. If you would prefer not to be recorded, tell us at any point and we will take your name and a telephone number and arrange for a member of our team to call you back.
An automated assistant may answer. Calls to our main line are answered by an automated telephone assistant. It takes your details, answers common questions and connects you to the right member of our team. It is not a person and it is not a health care provider. It does not give medical advice and it cannot diagnose, assess or make decisions about your care — those are made by qualified members of our team. You can ask to speak to a person at any time and we will connect you.
Text messages. We may send and receive text messages at the mobile number you give us, to confirm and follow up on the service you have asked about — for example, letting you know a worker is running late, confirming a schedule, or following up on an inquiry. Messages are stored with our telephone records and kept on the same basis as calls. Standard message rates from your mobile provider may apply. You can stop receiving messages at any time by replying STOP, or by telling us on a call or by email. Stopping messages does not affect your service — we will contact you by telephone instead.
What we collect. Your name, telephone number and email address; the city, town or region where care or a service is needed; your relationship to the person needing care and that person’s name; what you are calling about, including details about care needs, schedules and start dates, which may be health information; for people seeking work with us, profession, registration, experience and availability; and the date, time and duration of the call. Please do not give us more health detail than is necessary over the telephone.
Why we collect it. To respond to your inquiry and arrange the service you are asking about; to route your call to the right team and pass on your message accurately; to confirm what was said if a question or concern arises later; to train our team and improve the quality of our service; and to meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations. We do not use call recordings for advertising.
Who handles it. Our telephone and text messaging system is operated for us by a service provider acting on our behalf, which stores the recordings, transcripts, summaries and messages (see section 6). Otherwise, we share this information only with members of our own team who need it, and where the law permits or requires it.
How long we keep it. Recordings, transcripts and summaries are kept only as long as we need them for the purposes described above, and are deleted when they are no longer needed. Where information from a call becomes part of a client’s care record, it is transferred into our care records and kept under the rules that apply to those records. We keep a recording longer where it relates to a complaint, an incident, or a legal or regulatory matter, and only until that matter is concluded.
Access and protection. Access to recordings, transcripts and summaries is limited to authorized members of our team who need it, and we review who has access at least once a year.
Your choices. In addition to your rights in section 9, you may ask for a recording or transcript of your own call, ask us not to record you, or ask us to delete a recording of your call, and we will do so unless we are required to keep it.
Emergencies. Our telephone line is not an emergency service. If you are having a medical emergency, hang up and call 911.
13. Contact Our Privacy Officer
We have designated a Privacy Officer who is accountable for our compliance with this policy and with the privacy laws listed in section 1. Please direct all privacy questions, requests to access or correct your information, withdrawals of consent and privacy complaints to:
Privacy Officer
Help Now Healthcare Inc.
Unit 101, 969 Derry Road East
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5T 2J7
Phone: 1-888-507-6236
Email: privacy@helpnowhealthcare.com
We will acknowledge your request or complaint promptly and respond within the timelines set out in section 9.
Making a complaint to a regulator
If you are concerned about how we have handled your information, please tell our Privacy Officer first — we would rather put it right directly. You do not have to come to us first, and you may complain at any time to the appropriate regulator:
- Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario — for matters involving personal health information under PHIPA.
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8
Toll-free: 1-800-387-0073 · Toronto area: 416-326-3333 · ipc.on.ca - Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada — for matters under PIPEDA.
30 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3
Toll-free: 1-800-282-1376 · priv.gc.ca - Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia — for matters under BC PIPA.
PO Box 9038 Stn. Prov. Govt., Victoria, BC V8W 9A4
Phone: 250-387-5629 · Toll-free in BC: 1-800-663-7867 · oipc.bc.ca - Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta — for matters under Alberta PIPA.
410-9925 109 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T5K 2J8
Phone: 780-422-6860 · Toll-free: 1-888-878-4044 · oipc.ab.ca
14. Business Transactions
In the event of a merger, acquisition, restructuring or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred in accordance with applicable laws.