Privacy FAQs
Your privacy is important to us. Any personal information that you provide on GetCheckedOnline will be kept secure and confidential. The information that we ask for on GetCheckedOnline is similar to the information required when you see a health care provider in person.
You may have a lot of questions about your privacy and how it is protected. Please contact us if you have questions that are not answered here.
1. What personal information is collected when I get tested with GetCheckedOnline?
To provide you with the best possible care when you use GetCheckedOnline, we need to collect some personal information from you. This is similar information that a health care provider collects when you visit them in person.
Your contact information.
To set up an account with GetCheckedOnline, you will need to provide your name, email address, date of birth and gender. Your phone number is optional but is highly recommended so that we can contact you right away with any positive test results. Your name will not show anywhere on your lab form. Instead, you will be given a unique GetCheckedOnline Client Code that will be printed on your lab form and used to process your tests at the lab.
A brief sexual history.
To assess what tests and additional health information you may need, you will be asked to complete an online assessment. The assessment asks questions about your sexual history, condom use and sexual partners. This information is also used to recommend how often you should get tested. You have the option “I prefer not to answer” if you are not comfortable with giving an answer to a question.
2. Why do you collect this information?
To provide you with the best possible care, we need your contact information and a brief sexual history so that we can:
Contact you with results.
If your test results are positive (meaning you have a sexually transmitted infection), a nurse from the BC Centre for Disease Control will contact you by phone or email to talk about the next steps. The nurse will not give any information about your tests or results in the email or voice mail message. You will be asked to phone the clinic and speak with a nurse who will tell you your results over the phone. If your results are positive, the nurse will speak with you about treatment and talking to your partners.
Report to public health.
Positive test results will be shared with public health using your GetCheckedOnline Client Code and the contact information you provide. Public health will use this information to track and monitor STIs in BC, and to develop programs for STI prevention and sexual health promotion.
For HIV, you have the option to not have your contact information reported to public health. All personal information reported to public health is confidential and there are protections in place to ensure your privacy.
Evaluate GetCheckedOnline.
You have the option to stay informed about opportunities to evaluate this service. If you choose, we will send you an email to tell you when we are conducting evaluations such as surveys or interviews. You can choose at that time if you would like to participate. We will not contact you to participate in program evaluation without your permission.
3. Where is my information stored?
Whether you get tested for STIs through GetCheckedOnline or through a BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) STI clinic, your personal information and test results become part of your health record. When you test through GetCheckedOnline, these are the places where your health information is stored.
- Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) databases. GetCheckedOnline will store your account information and your testing history, which includes the dates you tested and what tests you had. Negative test results will be stored in GetCheckedOnline for 30 days and then deleted. Positive test results are never stored in GetCheckedOnline. When you test using GetCheckedOnline, you are considered to be a client of the BCCDC STI clinic. This means that your account information and test results will be entered into the BCCDC clinical database. Your record in the BCCDC clinical database will be linked to your GetCheckedOnline account by a unique number. Both GetCheckedOnline and the BCCDC clinical database are hosted on servers located within British Columbia and are subject to strict PHSA security and privacy standards.
- Laboratory databases. The laboratory that collects your samples will store your GetcheckedOnline Client Code, gender and date of birth in their database, along with the tests that were ordered. The Provincial Public Health laboratory that tests your samples will store your GetcheckedOnline Client Code, gender and date of birth in their database, along with your test results.
- Health Authority Databases. In BC, positive test results are reported to public health in the area where a person gets tested. This report includes your GetcheckedOnline Client Code, gender and date of birth. If you test positive for a reportable STI, the health authority will store your personal information and test results in a secure database.
4. Who has access to my information?
Your personal health information will be accessed only by health care providers who need to look at it in the context of your health care. How much a health care provider can see of your record depends on their role. Health care providers who are not providing you with care will not be able to access your record.
- BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) staff: Nurses from the STI Clinic at BCCDC need your information so that they can contact you about your test results and give you information about treatment and follow-up.
- Heath Authority staff: Public health gets a record of all positive test results in order to monitor the number of infections in the health authority. In some situations, a public health nurse from the health authority may continue with follow-up after a positive result to ensure that you get the care and support you need.
5. What information is visible online in my GetCheckedOnline account?
You can sign in to your GetCheckedOnline account anytime. You can update and change your contact information as needed by signing in and managing your account.
Your account is private and can only be viewed with the correct sign-in and password information. Once you are signed in, you can see the status of any tests and review your testing history. Negative test results will be stored in your GetCheckedOnline account for 30 days. Positive test results are not stored in your GetCheckedOnline account.
