Privacy Policy

Effective Date: March 11, 2026 | Last Updated: March 11, 2026

Legal Note: This Privacy Policy has been drafted to comply with PIPEDA (Canada's federal private-sector privacy law) and Ontario's PHIPA (which applies to personal health information). Have this reviewed by a lawyer before publishing, particularly given that you handle health-related client information.

1. About This Policy

Visible Hands Home Care Inc. ('Visible Hands', 'we', 'us', or 'our') is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the personal information we collect, use, and disclose in the course of operating our home care services. This Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and your rights with respect to your information.

2. What Personal Information We Collect

Contact information: name, address, phone number, email address
Care-related information: health status, care needs, medical history, and daily living information provided for the purpose of care planning
Payment information: billing details necessary to process private-pay service invoices
Website usage data: IP address, browser type, pages visited, and analytics data collected through cookies or third-party tools
Employment information: details provided by job applicants through our Careers page

3. How We Use Your Information

To assess care needs and develop personalized care plans
To deliver home care services and coordinate care with other providers
To communicate with clients, families, and professional referrers
To process payments and maintain billing records
To respond to website inquiries
To improve our services based on anonymized usage data
To fulfill legal and regulatory obligations

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

4. Consent

We collect personal information with consent, which may be expressed (e.g. signing a care agreement or submitting a contact form) or implied by the nature of the relationship. Consent may be withdrawn at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice.

5. How We Protect Your Information

Restricting access to personal information to authorized staff and contractors only
Using secure, password-protected systems for storing electronic client records
Training staff on privacy obligations and confidentiality as part of onboarding
Retaining paper records securely and disposing of them appropriately

6. Sharing Your Information

We may share your personal information:

With your consent or the consent of your authorized representative
To other health care providers involved in your care, where necessary and with consent
To service providers assisting our operations (e.g. bookkeeping, IT), under confidentiality agreements
As required by law, regulation, or lawful court order
In an emergency situation where disclosure is necessary to protect health or safety

7. Retention of Information

We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Client care records are retained in accordance with Ontario's record-keeping requirements. When information is no longer needed, it is securely destroyed or anonymized.

Legal Note: Best practice for home care providers is a minimum retention period of 10 years for adult client records. Confirm with a health law advisor.

8. Your Privacy Rights

You have the right to:

Request access to the personal information we hold about you
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
Withdraw consent to collection or use (subject to legal limitations)
File a complaint about our privacy practices

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Privacy Officer at info@visiblehandshomecare.ca.

9. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website may use cookies to improve your experience and analyze site usage. You may disable cookies through your browser settings. We use Google Analytics to understand aggregate website traffic. This data is anonymized and does not identify individual visitors.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated policy will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.

11. Contact Our Privacy Officer

Visible Hands Home Care Inc.
Email: info@visiblehandshomecare.ca
Phone: 289-991-4253

You may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or, for health information matters, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.