Improper access to more than 2,000 electronic health records at Alberta hospital

More than 30 employees fired for involvement in breach

Improper access to more than 2,000 electronic health records at Alberta hospital
No evidence the information was used inappropriately, say privacy officials. Steve Design/Shutterstock

RED DEER, Alta (CP).-- An internal investigation has found that there was improper access to more than 2,000 patient electronic health records at a central Alberta hospital.

The records were in the Alberta Public Laboratories clinical lab at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre and most belonged to emergency patients.

A total of 30 staff were reportedly involved in the breach and three are no longer employed by the lab.

Privacy officials with Alberta Public Laboratories say there is no evidence the information has been used inappropriately.

Affected individuals were mailed notifications on Thursday and a call line has been set up through Health Link to address any questions.

The breach was discovered during a routine audit in April.

An investigation into unusual log-in activity looked closely at a six-month period between last December and this past May.

``APL takes the privacy and confidentiality of patient information seriously and non-work-related access to patient records is a serious breach of confidentiality and a direct violation of APL privacy and information security policies,'' CEO Craig Ivany said in a written release.

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