Healthcare · Ontario
An AI receptionist for Ontario clinics under PHIPA
Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act sets the rules for every clinic that handles patient information, and for the companies that work on its behalf. Your AI virtual receptionist works under a signed agreement and asks only for what each call needs. 365vox is based in Toronto.
Hear it answer — call our AI receptionist(450) 367-9990Who PHIPA applies to, and where we fit
PHIPA governs health information custodians: physicians, dentists, physiotherapists, clinics and others who provide health care. Anyone handling information for them must follow the custodian’s instructions and PHIPA’s limits.
When your virtual receptionist answers a patient call, 365vox handles personal health information on your behalf. You stay the custodian: you decide what’s collected, who on your team sees it and how long it’s kept. We use it only to answer and handle your calls, as our agreement says. Our Terms and Data Processing Addendum say your calls aren’t used to train AI models.
When you create the agent, the portal asks: “Will callers share health information with this agent?” A Yes opens the health-information agreement: a HIPAA business associate agreement for US practices and a service agreement under the Canadian health privacy law that applies to you. You accept it before that agent can handle health information. For an Ontario clinic, that’s the service agreement under PHIPA. Call data is stored in the United States, for customers in the United States and Canada.
It never makes clinical decisions
Your virtual receptionist records what the caller says and follows your rules. It doesn’t assess symptoms or give medical advice. It’s set up to tell anyone who describes a life-threatening emergency to hang up and call 911. Like any AI, it can mishear or misunderstand, so it isn’t an emergency service and doesn’t replace your own emergency arrangements.
PHIPA in practice
| PHIPA asks | How your receptionist handles it |
|---|---|
| Collect only what you need for the purpose | Each kind of call asks only for what you approve: usually a name, a date of birth, a phone number and the reason in a few words. |
| Be open about how information is used | Its first sentence says it’s an AI and that the call is recorded. Your privacy notice explains the rest. |
| Protect it with reasonable safeguards | Encrypted between our systems and our providers and at rest, sign-in with an emailed code, and no health details in emails. |
| Agents act only as the custodian allows | Our agreement limits us to handling your calls. Our contracts with our providers don’t allow them to train AI models on your calls. |
| Keep it no longer than needed | Recordings are kept 7, 14 or 30 days, as you choose in Settings, then deleted. For a health agent, the transcript and summary follow the same schedule. |
| Give patients access to their information | Calls stay in the portal for the retention period you choose, ready to download within it. You decide what to keep longer. |
| Report privacy breaches | We tell you at the first reasonable opportunity, so you can notify patients and, when the regulation requires it, the IPC. |
General information, not legal advice. Your privacy officer or lawyer should confirm how these rules apply to you.
Where call data is stored
Call data is stored in the United States, for customers in the United States and Canada. Some of our providers may process it elsewhere to provide the service; our Data Processing Addendum lists them.
PHIPA doesn’t forbid storing health information outside Canada. Information stored or processed outside Canada may be accessible to courts and authorities there.
Only your team can open calls in the portal, and call emails only say that a call came in. The details stay in the portal for the retention period you choose (7, 14 or 30 days). You decide what to keep: if a law or your own policy requires you to keep a call longer, download it before then.
A booking before the clinic opens
- AI receptionistThanks for calling Example Family Health. I’m the clinic’s AI virtual receptionist. This call is recorded and transcribed so we can handle your request. How can I help?
- CallerI need to book my annual physical. Do I need my health card?
- AI receptionistYes, please bring your Ontario health card. Dr. Singh has Tuesday, November 3 at 9:15. Would that work?
- CallerGreat. I’ve also been getting headaches. Should I be worried?
- AI receptionistPlease mention that to Dr. Singh at your visit, and I’ll add a note so she knows. If this is an emergency, please hang up and call 911. What’s your full name, date of birth and phone number?
On every call in Ontario
- Its first sentence says it’s an AI and that the call is recorded
- It asks only for what the call needs, as you approve it
- Clinical questions go to your team, never answered by the AI
- It’s set up to tell anyone describing an emergency to call 911
- Call emails only say a call came in; the details stay in the portal
- Recordings are kept 7, 14 or 30 days, as you choose; the transcript and summary follow the same schedule
- Call data is stored in the United States
- An agreement for health information, accepted in the portal before the agent handles health information
What stays with your clinic
You’re still the custodian. You name your privacy contact, decide who on your team sees calls, answer patients’ requests, decide what to keep longer than your retention period and report breaches when PHIPA requires it. We give you what you need to do it. Your receptionist isn’t an emergency service, so keep your own emergency arrangements. More in PIPEDA and PHIPA.
What your missed calls are worth
Put in your own numbers.
Revenue those missed calls could be worth each month
$6,495
An estimate from the numbers above, not a guarantee. Amounts in US dollars. A month is counted as 4.33 weeks; cost is billed by the second. Starting values are example numbers chosen by 365vox for a private-pay clinic, in US dollars; replace them with your own.
Illustrative example
A physiotherapy and massage clinic in Mississauga
Practitioners are with patients all day, and the front desk also handles check-in and payments. Calls before 8 a.m. and after 6 p.m. reach voicemail, and new patients book elsewhere.
- The virtual receptionist answers early mornings, evenings, weekends and busy moments
- New patients are booked with the right practitioner and visit type by the clinic’s rules
- Insurance and direct-billing questions are answered from the clinic’s approved information
- Recordings are deleted after 30 days, as the clinic chose
The numbers, worked out
- Calls answered that used to be missed
- 87 a month
- New patients at 30%
- 26
- First visits at $250 USD each
- $6,495
Illustrative example, not a 365vox customer result. Assumptions: 20 missed calls a week (4.33 weeks a month), 30% become new patients, $250 USD over their first visits, 2.5 minutes a call at $0.75 USD. Change any of them in the calculator above.
More for Canadian clinics
Comparing virtual receptionist services?
Live answering services usually sell monthly plans of minutes or calls. 365vox is an AI virtual receptionist that answers forwarded calls on the first ring, day and night, follows your approved answers and costs $0.75 a minute, billed by the second, with no plan.
Keep exploring
Ontario clinic FAQs
Is 365vox PHIPA compliant?
Where is our clinic’s call data stored?
Do patients need to consent to the AI receptionist?
Is recording calls legal in Ontario?
What happens if there’s a privacy breach?
Can it answer Ontario patients’ medical questions?
What does it cost for an Ontario clinic?
How long does setup take for an Ontario clinic?
Patient calls answered, under a signed agreement.
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