Background
On this page
About the project
The Ministry is proposing a new health information framework to:
- Remove barriers to information sharing within the health sector
- Add appropriate protections
- Support lasting reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
The new framework could address legal barriers that are currently preventing personal health information from flowing easily across the health sector. This could enhance health care and system stewardship.
Why is change needed?
Today, legal barriers prevent personal health information from flowing easily across the health sector. These legal barriers impact patients through repeated testing, delayed diagnoses, and requiring patients to repeatedly share their personal health histories. These legal barriers can also result in information barriers to monitoring and evaluating the overall improvement of the health-care system.
These legal barriers result from ministries, health authorities, community health providers, First Nations Health Service Organizations, rights and title holding bodies, and partners in care like Métis Nation B.C. being subject to different privacy laws that were not designed to work together. First Nations, Modern Treaty Nations, Métis, and Indigenous Peoples in urban settings have revealed how these legal barriers have unequal effects on their health care. These legal barriers also interfere with rights and title holders’ community-driven and Nation-based ownership, access, control, and possession of personal health information.
Modernizing health information management is needed to bring consistency with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Consultation approach
The Ministry consulted First Nations, Métis, and Inuit in B.C. through the following phases:
Phase 1 – Listening and learning
In 2022, initial engagement sessions were hosted virtually with First Nations in each health region, and dedicated engagement sessions were held with Modern Treaty Nations and Métis Citizens. The purpose of the engagement was to listen and learn more about experiences related to health information management, particularly with patient care and data uses for health research. This phase revealed numerous barriers and gaps, highlighting the need for more in-depth consultation on possible policy solutions.
Phase 2 – In-person consultation
In 2023, the Ministry started deeper consultation to explore policy co-development. The Ministry spoke with a diverse group of First Nations and Métis organizations and leaders to get advice and feedback on how to pursue Declaration Act section 3 consultation. Based on this feedback, the Ministry contracted an Indigenous consulting organization for additional support and rolled out a province-wide approach that sought to reach First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and Indigenous Peoples in urban settings.
This phase involved in-person and virtual consultations with rights and title holders as well as Métis Citizens and Indigenous Peoples in urban settings.
Phase 3 – Digital
The ministry created this website exclusively for Indigenous Peoples. The website included all background information on the project and an option for those Indigenous Peoples who were unable to attend the in-person sessions to submit a submission to the ministry on proposed policy ideas for modernization.
The Ministry met virtually with some First Nations health centre staff who requested more conversations on the policy ideas before providing a submission on behalf of their community.
Next steps
A final report has been produced to summarize what we heard from our consultations as well as policy proposals for a new health information framework.