Investigations revealed a nurse in Thessalon First Nation accessed the personal health information of 34 patients receiving care through Indigenous health-care provider <\/p>\n
The province\u2019s privacy commissioner has determined\u00a0an Indigenous health-care provider failed to protect personal information when a nurse accessed and shared patient records in Thessalon First Nation.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
An investigation was launched after Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services reported a privacy breach to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario in February 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The IPC learned\u00a0a community health nurse viewed the electronic charts of 34 patients \u2014 without authorization \u2014 over the course of a three-month period beginning in October 2023.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
The patient records contained various types of personal health information, including:<\/p>\n
\n\tName, address, phone number, and email address
\n\tHealth card number
\n\tDate of birth
\n\tNext visit date
\n\tFamily history
\n\tMedical conditions
\n\tImmunization record
\n\tReferral forms
\n\tEncounter notes
\n\tProgress notes
\n\tDiagnostic imaging requests
\n\tLab requisitions\u00a0
\n\tSmoking status
<\/p>\n
All 34 patients did not\u00a0receive health care from the nurse and were considered “outside her circle of care,” IPC investigator Francisco Woo said in the decision.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Further investigation by Maamwesying revealed that the personal health information of seven patients was disclosed during a December 2023 meeting \u2014 involving the nurse, a council member, an assistant to the chief and an employee of the First Nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n