Terms & Conditions

Preamble:

Community Healthcare and Resource Directory ("CHARD") is a project operated by HealthLink BC. HealthLink BC is a division of the Ministry of Health Services (the "Ministry").
CHARD is endorsed by the British Columbia Medical Association ("BCMA") and the Ministry.
CHARD provides general practitioners ("GPs"), other healthcare professionals and designated staff (collectively the "Participants") with information about health-related services, organizations, locations and practitioners.
CHARD is a web-based service, secured so as to restrict access to registered Participants.
CHARD contains information (the "Information") about selected health practitioners (the "Practitioners") to enable Participants to make effective patient referrals to those Practitioners.
The Information consists of business contact details and patient referral instructions, and will not include any patient-specific information.
The information in CHARD will be managed in accordance with the provisions of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA, the "Act").

Expectations of HealthLink BC:

HealthLink BC will allow Practitioners to update their information maintained in the directory via the CHARD web site.
HealthLink BC will invite Participants to use CHARD based on input from the BCMA and the Ministry. The Participants will all be health professionals and their staff, including GPs and their medical office assistants, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners and other primary care practitioners who are members of Integrated Health Networks. Staff from the Ministry, the BCMA and HealthLink BC may also be Participants for administrative and management purposes only.
HealthLink BC will gather information for publication in CHARD, and make CHARD available via a secure web site to Participants.
HealthLink BC will take reasonable steps to ensure that the Information provided by Practitioners and other information about services and organizations are represented accurately in CHARD; however, HealthLink BC makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information in CHARD.
HealthLink BC will make reasonable security arrangements in accordance with the standards of the British Columbia government to protect the Information in CHARD from such risks as unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.

Expectations of CHARD Participants:

Participants shall sign in with the user ID and password assigned to them personally.
Participants shall keep their user ID and password confidential and shall not disclose them to any other person, including persons who work at the same location, even if those persons are health professionals, Practitioners or Participants.
CHARD provides business contact and referral process Information. Participants shall not rely on CHARD for diagnosis or treatment purposes.
Participants shall not share Information provided by CHARD with any other person, although patient referral information may be provided to patients, as required, to facilitate referrals.
Some of the Information in CHARD is sensitive ("Sensitive Information"). Participants shall take particular care to protect Sensitive Information from disclosure.
The following is Sensitive Information:
- "Physician-only" contact details, such as phone/ fax/ pager numbers
- Indications that clinics contain GPs with the authority to prescribe methadone
HealthLink BC collects the Information in CHARD from Practitioners on the understanding that the Information will only be accessible by health professionals and their staff, and that the Information will only be used to facilitate patient referrals. Participants shall not make copies of the Information in CHARD, and shall only use the Information for the purpose of referring patients to health services or practitioners.
Participants who have been given the ability to delegate their access will only do so to bona fide staff members (“Delegates”) who have a need to access the Information to assist with patient referrals on behalf of the Participant who delegated them the access.
Practitioners are required to notify CHARD immediately of the need to remove any Delegate.
Participants shall not do anything that would cause an infringement of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, even if they themselves are not governed by the Act. Without limitation, this includes ensuring that Information is not accessed or stored outside Canada.

Expectations of CHARD Practitioners:

Practitioners shall sign in with the user ID and password assigned to them personally.
Practitioners shall keep their user ID and password confidential and shall not disclose them to any other person, including persons who work at the same location, even if those persons are health professionals, Practitioners or Participants.
When submitting Information directly to the CHARD service, Practitioners consent to HealthLink BC using, granting access to, and disclosing this information in accordance with the terms and conditions of this document.
Practitioners shall only provide Information which they have the authority to provide to HealthLink BC.
Practitioners shall not provide any personal information (as defined in the Act) to CHARD about any other person.
Practitioners are responsible for submitting accurate Information to CHARD and for correcting any errors and requesting any revisions.
Practitioners shall not hold HealthLink BC, the Ministry and/or the BCMA liable for any inaccuracies in the Information in CHARD. Practitioners who submit Sensitive Information do so on the basis that there is a risk of accidental disclosure of Sensitive Information, notwithstanding the measures that HealthLink BC may take to protect the Sensitive Information.
The following is Sensitive Information:
- "Physician-only" contact details, such as phone/ fax/ pager numbers
When submitting Information directly to the CHARD service, Practitioners acknowledge that this information, including any Sensitive Information, is published by HealthLink BC in CHARD, and may be accessed and used by any of the Participants or CHARD Management.
Practitioners who have been given the ability to delegate their access will only do so to bona fide staff members whom the Practitioner wishes to act on their behalf.
Practitioners are entirely responsible for the actions of their staff and their Delegates relating to CHARD. Practitioners are required to notify CHARD immediately of the need to remove any Delegate.

Contact details:

Anyone with questions on the CHARD system or the information it contains should contact:

CHARD Support
chard.support@gov.bc.ca
1-877-330-7322

Preamble

Community Healthcare and Resource Directory ("CHARD") is a project operated by HealthLink BC. HealthLink BC is a division of the Ministry of Health Services, (the "Ministry").
CHARD is endorsed by the British Columbia Medical Association ("BCMA") and the Ministry.
CHARD provides general practitioners ("GPs"), other healthcare professionals and designated staff (collectively the "Participants") with information about health-related services, organizations, locations and practitioners.
CHARD is a web-based service, secured so as to restrict access to registered Participants.
CHARD contains information (the "Information") about selected health practitioners (the "Practitioners") to enable Participants to make effective patient referrals to those Practitioners.
The Information consists of business contact details and patient referral instructions, and will not include any patient-specific information.
The information in CHARD will be managed in accordance with the provisions of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA, the "Act").

Expectations of HealthLink BC:

HealthLink BC will gather information for publication in CHARD, and make CHARD available via a secure web site to Participants.
HealthLink BC will invite Participants to use CHARD based on input from the BCMA and the Ministry. The Participants will all be health professionals and their staff, including GPs and their medical office assistants, psychiatrists, physician specialists, nurse practitioners and other primary care practitioners who are members of Integrated Health Networks. Staff from the Ministry, the BCMA and HealthLink BC may also be Participants for administrative and management purposes only.
HealthLink BC will take reasonable steps to ensure that the Information provided by Practitioners and other information about services and organizations are represented accurately in CHARD; however, HealthLink BC makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information in CHARD.
HealthLink BC will allow Practitioners to update their information maintained in the directory via the CHARD web site.
HealthLink BC will make reasonable security arrangements in accordance with the standards of the British Columbia government to protect the Information in CHARD from such risks as unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.

Expectations of CHARD Participants:

Participants shall sign in with the user ID and password assigned to them personally.
Participants shall keep their user ID and password confidential and shall not disclose them to any other person, including persons who work at the same location, even if those persons are health professionals, Practitioners or Participants.
CHARD provides business contact and referral process Information. Participants shall not rely on CHARD for diagnosis or treatment purposes.
Participants shall not share Information provided by CHARD with any other person, although patient referral information may be provided to patients, as required, to facilitate referrals.
Some of the Information in CHARD is sensitive ("Sensitive Information"). Participants shall take particular care to protect Sensitive Information from disclosure.
The following is Sensitive Information:
- "Physician-only" contact details, such as phone/ fax/ pager numbers
- Indications that clinics contain GPs with the authority to prescribe methadone
HealthLink BC collects the Information in CHARD from Practitioners on the understanding that the Information will only be accessible by health professionals and their staff, and that the Information will only be used to facilitate patient referrals. Participants shall not make copies of the Information in CHARD, and shall only use the Information for the purpose of referring patients to health services or practitioners.
Participants who have been given the ability to delegate their access will only do so to bona fide staff members ("Delegates") who have a need to access the Information to assist with patient referrals on behalf of the Participant who delegated them the access.
Practitioners are required to notify CHARD immediately of the need to remove any Delegate.
Participants shall not do anything that would cause an infringement of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, even if they themselves are not governed by the Act. Without limitation, this includes ensuring that Information is not accessed or stored outside Canada.

Expectations of CHARD Practitioners:

Practitioners shall sign in with the user ID and password assigned to them personally.
Practitioners shall keep their user ID and password confidential and shall not disclose them to any other person, including persons who work at the same location, even if those persons are health professionals, Practitioners or Participants.
When submitting Information directly to the CHARD service, Practitioners consent to HealthLink BC using, granting access to, and disclosing this information in accordance with the terms and conditions of this document.
Practitioners shall only provide Information which they have the authority to provide to HealthLink BC.
Practitioners shall not provide any personal information (as defined in the Act) to CHARD about any other person.
Practitioners are responsible for submitting accurate Information to CHARD and for correcting any errors and requesting any revisions.
Practitioners shall not hold HealthLink BC, the Ministry and/or the BCMA liable for any inaccuracies in the Information in CHARD. Practitioners who submit Sensitive Information do so on the basis that there is a risk of accidental disclosure of Sensitive Information, notwithstanding the measures that HealthLink BC may take to protect the Sensitive Information.
The following is Sensitive Information:
- "Physician-only" contact details, such as phone/ fax/ pager numbers
When submitting Information directly to the CHARD service, Practitioners acknowledge that this information, including any Sensitive Information, is published by HealthLink BC in CHARD, and may be accessed and used by any of the Participants or CHARD Management.
Practitioners who have been given the ability to delegate their access will only do so to bona fide staff members whom the Practitioner wishes to act on their behalf.
Practitioners are entirely responsible for the actions of their staff and their Delegates relating to CHARD. Practitioners are required to notify CHARD immediately of the need to remove any Delegate.

Contact Information

Anyone with questions on the CHARD system or the information it contains should contact:
CHARD Support 1-877-330-7322

CHARD Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cost for a service or practitioner to be included in the CHARD directory?

CHARD is a free directory service for eligible services and practitioners in BC.

Is CHARD secure? Are there privacy implications?

The information in CHARD will be managed in accordance with the provisions of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA). All data collected is housed in Canada in a secure facility. CHARD can only be accessed by authorized users using the BC government’s BCeID authentication.

Where can I go to learn more about CHARD?

The best source for more information is the CHARD website... info.chardbc.ca. Here you will find more FAQs and videos that most common questions we receive.