Employee Snoops through Patient Records at Canadian Regional Hospital

Who: Nanaimo Regional General Hospital

When: 26 Mar 2019

# of records involved: 485 Medical Files

What happened: A employee has been linked to a privacy breach at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital

How did it happen: Unusual activity was detected by Island Health’s surveillance auditing system on March 1, triggering a  review dating back to Jan. 1, 2017. The employee was dismissed on March 13.

Outcome: The privacy and security of our patients’ and clients’ personal and health information is a top priority for Island Health. This situation is unacceptable and we wholeheartedly apologize to everyone who has been affected by this situation. All affected are being notified that their records were searched and accessed without appropriate authorization. The employee could access only basic information, including name, gender, birthdate, health number, what facility was visited and what room number the patient was in if admitted to hospital. The employee had no access to the patient’s personal chart, which would include diagnosis, treatment, ​and medical history.