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Health Minister Lela Evans has ordered investigation of two recent communications blow-ups involving Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. On Thursday, she said people will be held to account.
“In actual fact, it was irresponsible and it was borderline incompetent,” Evans said of the latest event, referring to a letter sent to the parents of school-age children on June 19, on the subject of access to youth medical records.
It followed an earlier incident in mid-June, when the NLHS drew outrage and ultimately interim CEO Ron Johnson issued a public apology after an internal cybersecurity phishing email included a false promise of a day off for staff.
Evans explained her concern with the more recent event, the letter to parents, is not simply in what she suggested was a lack of clarity in the letter. She said the letter was sent without recognition of the existing law and regulation on access to health information may need to be reviewed and potentially updated, now that the province is offering records direct to patients through an online app.
Evans said the issue is something she would have highlighted, holding back the letter, if she had been aware before it went out. And she would have been aware, she also said, if the health authority followed existing protocol around public communications, and how government is to be informed of activities at the health authority.
“From now on, things are going to be done the way they’re supposed to be done,” she said, in what was a lengthy interview in studio with the CBC’s Leila Beaudoin, covering several topics.
Evans spoke directly on the subject of NLHS communications for the first time since the letter was sent to parents on June 19, sparking reaction.
The CBC filed repeat requests to speak with someone from NLHS. In a statement to CBC, the health authority recently wrote that the letter was “not appropriately reviewed” and “unclear.”
There were separately comments attributed to Premier Tony Wakeham, in an online statement, where he called on NLHS to strengthen its communications and approval processes.
The letter sent to parents from the health authority, through the Department of Education, described an existing practice for accessing medical information, whereby parents and guardians have full access for children under 12 years old. Beginning at age 12, their “proxy access” must then be confirmed with the young person.
The premier has already committed to changing the related legislation. Evans said what’s happening now is a detailed consideration, to determine what it means to be delivering information directly to young people and potentially having youth patients making decisions on raw information, with potentially less contact with individuals like doctors, nurses and social workers.
“What I’m saying is that we’re going to make sure the intent of the original legislation is there to protect vulnerable children, right, but it’s also going to protect the rights of responsible, caring parents who want to make sure that their children are safe,” she said.
The premier suggested any proposed, related changes to the Personal Health Information Act could be tabled in the fall sitting of the House of Assembly.
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