Play The Podcast: Episode 89: Know Your Role Under the Health Information Act
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8 September 2026
The transition to being designated custodians under Alberta’s Health Information Act is a significant change for physiotherapists. In this episode, Leanne Loranger and Sean FitzGerald discuss why it is essential for physiotherapists to understand their role in every practice setting where they collect, use, disclose, store, or dispose of health information.
Listeners will learn about the roles of custodian, affiliate, and privacy officer, and how those roles shape responsibilities under the Act. The episode also explores common scenarios that can create uncertainty, including work with non-custodians, multi-disciplinary clinics, short-term locum contracts, and sports team or gym-based practice settings.
The key message: physiotherapists should review their contracts, job descriptions, and workplace arrangements to confirm whether they are the custodian or designated as an affiliate to another custodian. If there is no clear documentation establishing an affiliate relationship with an eligible custodian under the Act, physiotherapists must default to understanding that they are the custodian of the health information and must take the steps required to comply with the HIA.
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