Sask. Cancer Agency says 2 employees breached privacy

The Saskatchewan Cancer Agency says two employees have been disciplined after viewing private health information of 48 patients.

“The privacy of patient information is something we take very seriously,” Scott Livingstone, president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, said.

The agency began a detailed inquiry after learning about the breaches in May. The investigation found that two employees had viewed health information of 48 individuals they were not providing care for over a six-month period. That information included the person’ name, address, phone number, date of birth, health number, information about diagnostic tests, medical exams, clinical results, diagnoses and physician names.

The 48 patients have been informed about the breach. Livingstone says he deeply regrets that it failed to protect their privacy.

The agency is creating a plan which includes:

– mandatory attendance at new employee orientation for all new staff
– onboarding/department orientation checklist that will include privacy as a component
– changes to the confidentiality policy to include a statement around the use of systems that contain personal health information
– ongoing department training offered by the cancer agengy’s privacy officer
– investigating the possibility of a online privacy module that all employees must complete and that could be repeated as needed
– ongoing monitoring and auditing employee access to the systems containing patient information

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