A privacy breach affecting people who stayed at a COVID-19 isolation centre is the latest in a long line of cases of health information being mishandled in the Northwest Territories.
While the records never left the territorial government’s custody, there have been several recent cases where private health information was publicly disclosed. In his latest annual report, Fox says between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, his office investigated 234 new violations of the territory’s Health Information Act, nearly triple the 87 files in the previous year. He said the increase was likely due to more thorough reporting and changes in operations, staffing and training during the pandemic.
“Training is expensive. It’s time consuming. There’s no question. However … privacy training is mandatory,” he said. “The Department of Health is committed to ensure the protecting of personal information of residents at all times,” she said. Health and Social Services Minister Julie Green’s office declined an interview, saying the matter was “more operational in nature.”In November 2014, a doctor with the Stanton Territorial Hospital lost an unencrypted USB stick containing the private information of more than 4,000 people, including medical advice for 52 patients. It was found and returned the following month.
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