Nova Scotia PHIA

The Personal Health Information Act lets a custodian disclose personal health information collected in the province to a person outside it only in listed cases, such as with the individual's consent or where the Act or regulations permit it (s. 44(1)).

Information given to the custodian's own agent is not a disclosure: "the providing of personal health information between a custodian and an agent of the custodian is a use by the custodian, and not a disclosure by the custodian or a collection by the agent" (s. 29(2)). An agent is a person who "acts for or on behalf of the custodian in respect of personal health information for the purposes of the custodian" (s. 3).

Public bodies in Nova Scotia, and their service providers, must also keep personal information stored and accessed only in Canada unless an exception applies: see the Nova Scotia public bodies page.