Alberta's privacy commissioner is investigating another security breach involving personal patient information, this time stolen from a pediatrician's office, CBC News has learned.
The doctor at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital had the medical information of 270 children stored on a computer memory stick. She put the tiny device in her purse and locked it in her office drawer, but the purse was stolen on Aug. 16.
"The records we were concerned with were personal health number, name, date of service at Glenrose and diagnosis," confirmed Steve Buick, spokesman for Capital Health. "Not enough clinical detail, but enough that a parent might naturally be concerned."
'It is unbelievable that after a number of high-profile incidents in the past, organizations are not getting it.'—Frank Work, Alberta's privacy commissioner
The news comes one day after the Edmonton Catholic School District revealed a memory stick containing the names, addresses and phone numbers of 560 students had been stolen from a bus carrier employee.
"I was shocked. That kind of stuff that should be locked up shouldn't be going into people's purses," said Rick Klein, whose son was treated at the Glenrose hospital about five years ago. "Who knows who has the information now?"
Even though the theft happened in August, Klein said he was only told about it a month ago.
"It is unbelievable that after a number of high-profile incidents in the past, organizations are not getting it," said Frank Work, Alberta's privacy commissioner.
Work released the results of an investigation Tuesday, ordering Capital Health to tighten security after four laptop computers — one containing patients' personal data — were stolen from an office in May. Letters were sent to 20,000 patients three months after the theft occurred.
Commissioner orders encryption of data
Work's office found that Capital Health contravened the Health Information Act by not maintaining adequate safeguards to protect patient information.
He ordered the health region to encrypt all personal information on portable devices and to review its process of notifying people about privacy breaches.
"It doesn't matter if the mobile device is password protected, or even double password protected, there must be another layer of protection and that layer is encryption," he said.
Encryption converts data into code, allowing only authorized parties to read it.
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