An updated Confidentiality and Privacy – Personal Health Information practice standard comes into effect Dec. 1

We’ve modernized the Confidentiality and Privacy – Personal Health Information practice standard. The updated standard comes into effect on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026, and is available on our Standards & Guidelines page. 

Protecting a client’s confidential information is an essential part of the nurse-client therapeutic relationship. When a client knows their personal information is secure, it builds trust in their health care team and supports better client outcomes. 

The standard needed modernizing to ensure that it remained evidence-informed and relevant to current practice. For example, we added new content about using artificial intelligence and other new technologies so that it reflects contemporary nursing practice. We also used more inclusive language and clearly outlined the roles of employers and nurses, to help make the standard clear and easy to understand. These updates were needed to ensure the standard aligns with a rapidly changing nursing environment. These updates do not change your accountabilities. They help clarify how those accountabilities apply in today's practice settings, including when nurses use emerging technologies or work in roles where privacy responsibilities may differ.

Get to know the updated standard 

The standard is organized around the core themes of Access, Collection, Use and Disclosure. You can learn more about your accountabilities related to each by exploring our many case scenarios, which use hypothetical situations to explain how to apply the standard. 

We’ve also created a new resource to help you better understand the expectations and roles of health information custodians (HICs) and agents. If you are self-employed as a nurse, or employed in health services in non-health care settings (for example, in a school) you may be considered a HIC rather than an agent. This may mean you have additional responsibilities related to confidentiality and privacy. Our new resource explains how health information custodians and agents work together to protect confidentiality and privacy. 

If you’d like to learn more about the Confidentiality and Privacy – Personal Health Information practice standard, join us for a webinar on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, from 12-1 pm. Members of our Practice Quality team will give an overview of the standard and how it applies to nursing practice. There will be a Q&A session for any questions about the standard and nursing accountabilities.

The webinar will take place on Zoom and is open to anyone who wants to learn more about the Confidentiality and Privacy – Personal Health Information practice standard. No pre-registration required. Join the webinar here. 

Using your insights and feedback  

Throughout the process, we sought feedback from nurses, employers, nursing educators, system partners like nursing associations, the Information Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, and members of the public to ensure that the revised standard was clear, helpful, and aligned with current nursing practice. Thank you to everyone who sent feedback. Your input helped ensure the updated standard is clear, evidence-informed and relevant to current practice.

Have questions about your nursing accountabilities? We’re here to help

Standards are an important part of safe nursing practice. They explain nurses’ professional accountabilities, and they let the public know what to expect from nurses. CNO sets practice standards to outline nurses’ professional accountabilities and support safe and ethical care for the people of Ontario. Your registration fees help keep practice standards current, providing nurses with the guidance they need to meet professional expectations.

If you have questions about the new standard or your accountabilities related to confidentiality and privacy, we’d love to hear from you. Write to our Practice Support team here.