Information commissioner denied access to Health PEI report

Health PEI wants to take theIsland's information and privacy commissioner to courtto settle a disputeover an internal reportwhich the government agency is refusing to let the commissioner see.

Commissioner Karen Rose issued an order in April,insistingHealth PEI hand her the reporton the basis that she "has the power to compel the public body to produce the record at issue."

In response, Health PEI filed an application for a judicial reviewin P.E.I. Supreme Court, arguing the commissioner "does not have the jurisdiction or authority to inspect or review" the specific information she's ordered the agency produce.

Report surroundscomplaintat QEH

According to the commissioner's order, the initial request for the report came from an applicant who was interviewed as part of an investigation into a complaint at Charlottetown's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The commissioner says theapplicantrequested "access to a secondary report about systemic issues."However,Health PEI denied that request, saying thereport was a "quality improvement report," and that under P.E.I.'s Health Services Act, the information in the report was confidential.

According to Health PEI'swebsite, suchreports are written up after concerns about patient care are raised and then investigated by a quality improvement committee.

"The committee meets with individuals involved, selected experts, and others who can contribute to the analysis of the situation," the website reads.

"To support a culture of learning and openness, conversations that are part of the review are confidential so that those involved are free to have discussion without fear that the information will be used against them."

The applicant argued thereport in question was not authored by the quality improvementcommittee, but rather an external investigator raising"systemic concerns."

No review without seeing report

The commissioner agreed to review the case, and asked Health PEI to provide her with a copy of the report. Rose said she can't"assess whether it is quality improvement information" without actually seeing the report.

But Health PEI denied Rose's request, arguing that under the Health Services Act, not even the commissioner has the right to access quality improvement information.

The commissioner responded by issuing an official order to Health PEI, compelling the agency to provide her with a copy of the report.

In the order, Rose says P.E.I.'s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP) gives her the "authority to order production of records."

She adds that the only way she can carry out her "legislated duty to independently review a public body's decision" in this case, isby reading Health PEI's report.

Health PEI standing by legislation

But Health PEI has refused to follow that order, instead asking for the judicial review.

"Our health care legislation provides for a confidential review process that examines the health system and recommends quality improvements that can be made to health services provided to Islanders," Health PEI said in a statement issued Friday afternoon.

"Recently, the Privacy Commissioner made a decision about the confidentiality of this process. As a result Health PEI has asked the Supreme Court of PEI to provide direction on this."

The commissioner has until June 19 to file a response in Supreme Court. At this point, the court hasn't ruled on if or when it will hear the case.

Neither the information commissioner nor Health PEI agreed to an interview.

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