Alberta privacy commish investigating Telus Health app

Alberta’s information and privacy commissioner will launch two separate investigations related to Telus Corp.’s Babylon Health application. According to a press release, the investigations by the office of commissioner Jill Clayton were opened after concerns were identified in separate privacy impact assessments (PIAs) that a Calgary-based physician and Telus’ subsidiary, Babylon Health Canada Limited, had submitted on the app. “No one is required to use Babylon by Telus Health. I encourage physicians or patients with concerns about this app to remain opted out of using it while my office reviews the app’s compliance with Alberta’s privacy laws,” Clayton said in the release Tuesday. The application, which allows users to schedule a remote consultation with a physician after requiring them to answer a series of questions, has surged in use since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Canada, with usage up between six to 10 times, according to the company. The app is available in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, and is being downloaded some 3,000 times a day, Juggy Sihota, the vice-president of Telus’ consumer health division told The Wire Report in an interview last month. The Alberta IPC's two investigations are conducted under two distinct laws: the Health Information Act (HIA), which governs the usage of health information by "health custodians," and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), which governs the private sector in the province. In a Tuesday afternoon statement from Telus, the company said it welcomed “the opportunity to clarify the strength of our privacy program for Babylon by TELUS Health, and look forward to working collaboratively with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta to supply the additional information requested to showcase that we are meeting or exceeding the privacy requirements." In Alberta -- unlike in B.C. and Ontario where the app is also available -- private companies are required to submit a privacy impact assessment (PIA). "Generally, during a PIA review the OIPC will work with the health custodian to address concerns prior to deciding whether the PIA will be accepted," the IPC said in a release. "Since the app is already in use and compliance concerns were identified during the PIA review, the Commissioner decided to open an investigation on her own motion," under the HIA, the release said. The app was launched in Alberta in February. On Mar. 23, the government of Alberta added new billing codes to its medical benefits schedule, allowing physicians to bill for care provided through remote apps like the Babylon app. “Virtual care codes will facilitate patient care while making it possible to follow public health guidelines of maintaining social distance and self-isolation,” Alberta Minister of Health Tyler Shandro said in a March statement. “Physicians should choose the best way to provide the care Albertans deserve without having to worry about fair compensation for their services.” According to the new billing schedule, a family physician can now bill $124.50 for a “comprehensive consultation via video conference for a referred patient.” While there is no requirement for a PIA in Ontario, the province’s Information and privacy commissioner Brian Beamish told The Wire Report last month that his office was in touch with the ministry of health regarding the app. "We are reaching out to the ministry to determine whether the app is being used to provide health care in Ontario and what privacy implications might exist for Ontarians who might use it,” commissioner Brian Beamish said in an email to The Wire Report in March. In February, the federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner, as well as the privacy commissioners from Quebec, B.C. and Alberta launched a joint investigation into the privacy practices of Clearview AI facial recognition technology. — With reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Adam Langenberg at alangenberg@thewirereport.ca

Alberta privacy commish investigating Telus Health app

News | April 21, 2020

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Alberta privacy commish investigating Telus Health app

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