Hospital staff member was digging into patient files for 3 years, says Health PEI

A member of staff at Charlottetown's Queen Elizabeth Hospital was inappropriately accessing patient records for three years before the privacy breach was uncovered, says Health PEI.

In a news release Wednesday morning, Health PEI said the staff member, who is no longer at the hospital, accessed 353 patient files in breach of hospital privacy rules.

"It was discovered through the vigilance of one of our nurse managers at the QEH," acting Health PEI CEO Denise Lewis Fleming told CBC News.

"She was undertaking a chart review and identified that there was an individual who accessed a patient record for no apparent clinical reason."

A subsequent audit uncovered the other incidents. Lewis Fleming said the woman's employment at the hospital ended on the day the evidence was presented to her.

Health PEI said the first incident was discovered two weeks ago, and the employee was confronted last week.

The agency said prior to this, the woman had a clean record of employment.

Information not shared, officials told

Information in the files included hospital admission information, medication administered in hospital, and lab tests in hospital, including emergency and ambulatory care departments.

According to Health PEIthe woman told hospital officials she did not share the information with anyone, and Lewis Fleming said the agencyhas no reason to believe she did.

Health PEIsaid the woman would not say why she accessed the patient files.

Privacy commissioner investigating

Health PEI is contacting all the patients involved, and they will have an opportunity to discuss the details of how their files were accessed.

Under the Health Information Act, Health PEI is required to advise patients of privacy breaches.

The privacy commissioner was notified on Friday and an investigation is underway.

Charlottetown Police were also notified. Police said their investigation determined there was no criminal intent so they won't be pursuing the matter further.

Lewis Fleming apologized for the breach, and said Health PEI takes patient privacy very seriously. The incident is being reviewed to see how policies and procedures could be improved.

In a news release, the Opposition Progressive Conservatives said the investigation must be a priority for the privacy commissioner.

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