This application is technical in nature and is available in English only due to its limited targeted audience. This application has been exempted from translation under the French Language Services Act as per O. Reg. 671/92. Prescribers can fax EAP requests in French to 416-327-0981.

Overview

SADIE (the Special Authorization Digital Information Exchange) is a portal used to submit and track electronic requests into the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) Program’s Exceptional Access Program (EAP), requests for Blood Glucose Test Strips reimbursement, registrations for the Inherited Metabolic Diseases program, and Disability Determination Packages for the Ontario Disability Support Program.

Find more information on SADIE visit Ontario.ca/SADIE

Definitions

“Ministry” means the Ontario Ministry of Health.

“Patient” means an individual who is eligible to receive benefits under the Ontario Drug Benefit Act and for whom drug coverage under the Ministry’s Exceptional Access Program is sought.

“Personal Information” means any recorded information about an identifiable individual or that may identify an individual and includes PHI.

PHIPA means the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, as may be amended or replaced from time to time.

PHI means personal health information within the meaning of PHIPA.

“Policy” means this SADIE Acceptable Use Policy.

“Relevant PHI means PHI that is collected, used or disclosed in the course of using SADIE.

SADIE means the Special Authorization Digital Information Exchange service and any changes to the service made available by the Ministry to the User.

“Services” means the services provided by the Ministry to the User, as described in section 9.1 of this Policy.

“User” or “you” means you, the individual who has signed below, and who has been authorized to access and use SADIE.

Scope and Application

This Policy governs your access to and use of SADIE. The Ministry may revise this Policy from time-to-time at its sole discretion, by providing notice to the User. By continuing to access and use SADIE after a revised version of the Policy has been provided to the User, you agree to comply with the latest version of the Policy.

Accountability

You are responsible for your access to and use of SADIE. You are responsible for abiding by this Policy as well as any applicable Ministry and User policies and business and standard usage practices.

Acceptable Use

You may access and use SADIE solely for the purposes of submitting or assisting in the submission of requests to the Ministry’s Exceptional Access Program in respect of a Patient. Using SADIE for this purpose may involve the collection, use, and/or disclosure of Personal Information.

Inappropriate and Unacceptable Use

You shall not use SADIE in any manner that constitutes inappropriate or unacceptable use, which includes, but is not limited to:

  1. collecting, using or disclosing Personal Information in contravention of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, (PHIPA), or any other applicable law
  2. making, possessing or distributing computer programs that are designed to assist in obtaining access to SADIE in violation of any agreement or applicable law
  3. willfully bypassing or subverting physical, logical or procedural safeguards, such as firewalls, web-filtering software or other access controls, or attempting to gain access to SADIE other than through your appropriate access contemplated by this Policy
  4. sharing passwords, encryption keys or other system access tools with other individuals or entities for any purpose
  5. allowing others to use SADIE while you are logged in or not logging out of SADIE after each session of use
  6. using another individual’s password, encryption keys or any other system access tools to access SADIE
  7. accessing restricted information or functions in SADIE without proper authorization
  8. infringing on intellectual property rights, including copyrights, trade secrets or trademark
  9. providing false, incomplete or misleading information to the Ministry in connection with this Policy, SADIE, or the administration of the Exceptional Access Program

Security

You must immediately notify the Ministry if you suspect or know that passwords, encryption keys or other system access tools have been or may be breached or compromised, change your password immediately in such circumstances, and follow any other instructions from or requirements of the Ministry.

You agree to provide assistance in regard to any privacy complaints of individuals and reviews conducted by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

Non-Compliance with this Policy

You must report all instances of suspected or actual breach of this Policy to the Ministry by calling 1-800-262-6524 or emailing: SSContactCentre.MOH@ontario.ca.

The Ministry reserves the right to investigate suspected or actual breaches of this Policy. You shall fully cooperate with any such investigation. For greater certainty, you shall:

  1. provide access to all documentation requested orally or in writing by the Ministry
  2. provide any other assistance that may reasonably be requested by the Ministry in connection with an actual or suspected breach

The Ministry may, at is sole discretion, suspend, revoke or impose conditions on your access to SADIE as a result of your actual or suspected breach of this Policy or any representations, warranties or covenants that you provide while using SADIE. For clarity, if you have authorized a third party to act on your behalf in SADIE as a delegate or designate using the authorization procedures in SADIE, then that delegate’s or designate’s actual or suspected breach of this Policy may also result in the suspension or revocation of, or imposition of conditions on, your access to SADIE.

Breaches of this Policy or any representations or warranties that you provide while using SADIE may result in criminal or quasi-criminal prosecution or civil liability or other sanctions deemed appropriate by the Ministry.

Liability, Intellectual Property and General

The Ministry shall not be liable for any losses, expenses, costs, claims, damages or liabilities howsoever arising in connection with or as a result of your access to or use of SADIE.

Nothing in this Policy or your access to SADIE will transfer any right, title or interest in or to SADIE to you, including any intellectual property rights. For clarity, all intellectual property rights in and to SADIE are owned by the Ministry.

Any failure by the Ministry to enforce any part of this Policy shall not constitute a waiver by the Ministry of any right to do so at any time.

If any provision of this Policy is found to be invalid or unenforceable, then that provision will be enforced to the extent possible, and all other provisions will remain in full force and effect.

Additional Terms

9.1 Services: The Ministry will provide you with the following Services:

  1. access to SADIE to facilitate the disclosure of the Relevant PHI between you and the Ministry
  2. enroll and authenticate your status as a User in SADIE
  3. support for the use of SADIE through existing information technology (IT) support channels
  4. send you “push” notifications to the email account you use to access SADIE to inform you that one or more of the following records is available for your review in SADIE:
    1. an Exceptional Access Program request that requires submission to the Ministry
    2. a Ministry decision in response to an Exceptional Access Program request
    3. a request from the Ministry for additional information to support an Exceptional Access Program request that was previously submitted
    4. an Exceptional Access Program approval with an upcoming expiry date
  5. notify you if the Ministry accessed, used, disclosed or disposed of the Relevant PHI other than in accordance with section 9.2 and 9.3 of this Policy, or if an unauthorized person accessed the Relevant PHI
  6. provide you with directives, guidelines, training materials, and policies regarding the use of SADIE, if any
  7. provide you with a plain language description of the Services that you may share with the individuals to whom the Relevant PHI relates, including a general description of the safeguards in place to protect against unauthorized use and disclosure of the Relevant PHI, and to protect the integrity of the Relevant PHI
  8. to the extent reasonably practical, and in a manner that is reasonably practical, keep and make available to you upon request, an electronic record of,
    1. all accesses to all or part of the Relevant PHI associated with you being held in SADIE, which record shall identify the person who accessed the Relevant PHI and the date and time of the access
    2. all transfers of all or part of the Relevant PHI associated with you by means of SADIE, which record shall identify the person who transferred the Relevant PHI and the person or address to whom it was sent, and the date and time it was sent
  9. provide to you a written copy of the results of an assessment performed by the Ministry of the Services provided to you, with respect to:
    1. threats, vulnerabilities and risks to the security and integrity of the Relevant PHI
    2. how the Services may affect the privacy of the individuals who are the subject of the Relevant PHI

9.2 Ministry Restrictions: Subject to section 9.3 of this Policy, when providing the Services, the Ministry shall not:

  1. use any Relevant PHI to which it has access in the course of providing the Services except as necessary in the course of providing the Services;
  2. disclose any Relevant PHI to which it has access in the course of providing the Services for you
  3. permit the Ministry’s employees or any person acting on its behalf to be able to have access to the Relevant PHI unless the employee or person acting on its behalf agrees to comply with the restrictions that apply to the Ministry

9.3 Exceptions to Ministry Restrictions. The restrictions in section 9.2 do not apply to the Ministry where:

  1. the Ministry is required by law to do something otherwise restricted under section 9.2
  2. the Ministry is acting in its role as a health information custodian in accordance with PHIPA

9.4 Access and Transmission. The Ministry will:

  1. access and transmit the Relevant PHI in order to provide the Services in accordance with this Policy and PHIPA
  2. prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent collection, use, disclosure, loss, alteration or destruction of the Relevant PHI
  3. immediately provide you with notice of any request or demand for the Relevant PHI that is based directly or indirectly on a claim that there is a legal requirement that the Ministry or a related person disclose any Relevant PHI, including any and all requests or demands under the laws of any foreign jurisdiction
  4. immediately notify you of any written complaint or inquiry received by the Ministry about the Ministry's handling of the Relevant PHI which may be of significance to you, including any review commenced by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

9.5 Providing Assistance. You and the Ministry shall provide to each other all assistance reasonably requested in regard to any relevant privacy concern arising in relation to the subject matter of article 9.0 of this Policy, including in the context of complaints of individuals, and any inquiries, reviews, inspections or other procedures conducted by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

9.6 Improvements to Safety and Security Measures. The Ministry will:

  1. conduct regular reviews and evaluations of its systems with reference to applicable industry standards to ensure it is using the most appropriate privacy enhancing technology to protect the safety and security of the Relevant PHI
  2. implement any change at its initiative or that may be reasonably required by you, to improve the adequacy and effectiveness of the measures the Ministry takes to ensure the safety and security of the Relevant PHI in response to an Order of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario made or issued against the Ministry or another HIC
  3. review, in consultation with you, the feasibility, including the scope and timeline, of implementing recommendations of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and implement any such changes that are further agreed to and documented by you and the Ministry

Conflict or Inconsistency

In the event of a conflict or inconsistency between the Policy and the BPS Secure Login Terms and Conditions of Use (“BPS Secure Terms”) or the Acceptable Use Policy for Electronic Business Services (“EBSE Terms”), the Policy will prevail over the BPS Secure Terms or EBSE Terms, as applicable.

Your Agreement

By accessing and using SADIE, you agree that you have read and agree to comply with the terms of this Policy.

  1. I represent and warrant that, I have read, understood and, when using SADIE agree to comply with the acceptable use Policy for SADIE that was last updated 14 November 2021.
  2. I understand and acknowledge that it is an offence to knowingly furnish false or incomplete information to the Ministry in connection with the administration of the Ontario Drug Benefit Act.

Acceptance of the acceptable use Policy is required to access SADIE.

Contact us

Sign In/Enrolment/Technical Questions – Call ‘Inquiry Services’ 1-800-262-6524 (after the language prompts, press 2-3) or email SSContactCentre.MOH@ontario.ca

Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Contact the SADIE Team – SADIE@ontario.ca