Patients involved in N.S. mass shooting among those caught up in major privacy breach
CTV
Nova Scotia Health is under the microscope after eight employees were found snooping into medical records. The privacy breaches involve the electronic health records of people associated with the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia, among others.
Nova Scotia Health is under the microscope after eight employees were found snooping into medical records.
The privacy breaches involve the electronic health records of people associated with the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia, among others.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner says the discoveries were made by Nova Scotia Health after it proactively monitored employees’ access to the records of those involved in or related to the mass shooting.
The health authority did publicly admit to a privacy breach back on Aug. 4, 2020, but did not give specifics, including how it involved those connected to the shootings in Portapique, N.S.
As part of its investigation, Nova Scotia Health conducted additional audits of the employees’ access to electronic health records, which revealed even more snooping, going back for years.
Nova Scotia Health voluntarily reported the breaches to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner on June 15, 2020.
In a news release Wednesday, the privacy commissioner said the employees also looked up friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. In total, Nova Scotia Health’s investigation uncovered more than 1,200 privacy breaches affecting 270 people.
