Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Best Practices for Gathering Informed Consent and the Content of Consent Forms. Effective January 2018. 1 Best Practices for Gathering Informed Consent and the Content of Consent Forms In The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP), The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LA FOIP) and The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) consent is sometimes required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information (PI) or personal health information (PHI). Where consent is required all three of the statutes require that the consent: • Must relate to the purpose for which the information is required. • Must be informed. • Must be given voluntarily. • Must not be obtained through misrepresentation, fraud or coercion. The statutes also provide that: • A consent may be given that is effective for a limited period. • Consent may be express or implied unless otherwise provided. • An express consent need not be in writing. See section 18 of the FOIP Regulations, section 11 of the LA FOIP Regulations and section 6 of HIPA. Express consent is informed and voluntary. Consent is informed when the individual knows the purpose for the collection, use and/or disclosure, that they can withhold or revoke their consent and the consequences of doing so. Each individual for which consent is sought has different needs in regard to ensuring ‘informed consent.’ Individuals have different levels of literacy, English proficiency, cognitive impairments, learning disabilities, hearing or vision impairments, stress and time pressures. Organizations should adjust the consent process to the needs of the individual. Organizations that receive consent forms electronically should adapt these best practices to ensure individuals are still able to give informed consent.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTgwMjYzOA==