Federal (Canada) privacy & access decisions

An individual complained that a doctor collected, used, and disclosed his personal information without consent. The complainant had been in a car accident and his insurance company hired an independent medical evaluation (IME) firm to assess his claim for catastrophic impairment. The doctor in question was hired by the IME firm to compile a summary report based on assessments from other doctors. The complainant argued he had not consented to this specific doctor, though he had consented to other doctors involved in his claim. The doctor contended that the complainant had provided consent through signed accident benefit forms (OCF-1 and OCF-19). The OPC found that the signed forms included explicit consent for health professionals to collect, use, and disclose personal information for the purpose of investigating and processing the insurance claim. The OPC concluded that the doctor's actions were within the scope of the consent provided.

• Whether the doctor collected, used, and disclosed the complainant's personal information without consent
• Whether the consent provided in OCF-1 and OCF-19 forms extended to the doctor preparing the summary report