What is PIPEDA Compliance?
PIPEDA compliance refers to the instance where private sector organizations in Canada meet the Act's fundamental privacy requirements when handling patient data that can be identified.
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is the Canadian law relating to data privacy. It governs how private sector organizations collect, use, and disclose personal information in the course of commercial business.
These 10 Fair Information Principles compose the PIPEDA:
- Principle 1: Accountability
- Principle 2: Identifying purposes
- Principle 3: Consent
- Principle 4: Limiting collection
- Principle 5: Limiting use, disclosure, and retention
- Principle 6: Accuracy
- Principle 7: Safeguards
- Principle 8: Openness
- Principle 9: Individual access
- Principle 10: Challenging compliance
The sensitive nature of health information necessitates enhanced protection across physical, technical, and administrative safeguards. To align with statutory expectations, PIPEDA compliance includes external and internal policies that clearly describe how personal information is managed, retained, and disposed of.
See how Heidi builds clinician-centered tools that improve patient care
What does it mean that Heidi is compliant with PIPEDA?
At Heidi, compliance with PIPEDA signifies that our tool adheres to Canada's federal privacy laws. This involves implementing safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the data.
We protect private patient information in the following ways:
Risk Prevention in Data Handling
With Heidi, security is maintained as the collection of data is limited to what is necessary and reasonable. The disclosure and use of information is also only meant for identified and legitimate purposes. So that individuals exercise control over their data, they are solely entitled to access and correct their personal information held by the organization.
Transparency in Patient Data Management
Heidi demonstrates accountability through the designation of privacy officers who maintain oversight for compliance and data governance.
Compliance Across Canada’s Multi-Region Privacy Laws
Multi-region compliance with PIPEDA follows the rule that Heidi obtains meaningful consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. Organizations using Heidi are protected by Ontario’s PHIPA, BC’s PIPA, and others.
Heidi’s impact is seen in its ability to increase operational efficiency in Canada. In the Ottawa Institute of Behavioural Therapy (OICBT), there has been success in recentering patient care in practice.
A clinician shared, “Our team is able to focus on patient care instead of paperwork. We’re seeing more engagement, less burnout, and a foundation for a more sustainable practice.” In a nutshell, the team was able to achieve the following:
- 66% reduction in time spent on administrative tasks
- 51% increase in work-life balance
To date, Heidi is able to return for than 5 million hours to frontline clinicians in Canada.
How does Heidi maintain PIPEDA compliance?
Heidi applies layered administrative, technical, and organisational safeguards, including least‑privilege access, encryption, continuous monitoring, and a documented incident response and breach‑notification process. Vendor risk is tightly managed with zero‑retention data processing agreements (DPAs) for third‑party services, alongside data minimisation and de-identification of PII/PHI.
Lawful and Limited Data Processing
Heidi adheres to strict handling protocols, including the principle of purpose limitation, ensuring that data collection is limited to what is strictly needed. Once data is no longer required, Heidi allows its users to establish retention schedules with documented destruction or anonymisation processes.
Security Safeguards for Accountability
We implement privacy programs responsibly and monitor compliance regularly. Heidi’s features meet the requirements for privacy impact assessments (PIAs), allowing clinicians to get patient consent before transcribing consultations.
Local Data Hosting for Canadian Deployments
Aligned with PIPEDA, PHIPA, and supported by external audits such as ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2, Heidi’s PIAs are available upon request via our Trust Center. All health data for our Canadian customers is stored and processed exclusively in Canada.
Build Safer Clinical Workflows with PIPEDA-Compliant Heidi
At Heidi, we support more than half a million consultations in Canada every week. Our AI care partner is built to strengthen clinical workflows, expand capacity, and keep your teams focused on the moments that matter most: patient care.
PIPEDA compliance is only one part of that commitment. We continuously review our safeguards, update internal controls, and refine documentation processes to keep pace with the evolving standards and realities of clinical practice.
If you have more concerns about privacy, safety, or security, our team is here to listen and support you.
FAQs About PIPEDA Compliance
Failing to comply with PIPEDA is a serious risk, particularly when utilizing AI-assisted healthcare tools. While unauthorized access to patient health data might seem minor, the substantial legal ramifications might potentially lead to the discontinuation of services. With Heidi, these risks are mitigated through strong encryption and role-based data access.