Patients private documents found scattered near Regina medical clinic Regina Leader Post

pMost of the recovered records were copies of psychiatric intake forms containing sensitive personal information according to Saskatchewans Information and Privacy CommissionerppYou can save this article by registering for free here Or signin if you have an accountppThe private records of patients at the Elphinstone Medical Clinic were just laying loose on the ground in a nearby alley and an empty lotppAccording to a report from Saskatchewans Information and Privacy Commissioner SIPC a person referred to as Individual A saw a Facebook post on Oct 27 2024 that referenced patient records scattered near the Regina clinicppSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across CanadappSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across CanadappCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experienceppCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experienceppSo the individual went to see for themselfppDocuments were found loosely blown about according to the commissioners report dated March 26ppIndividual A retrieved what records they could find and took them home for safekeeping it statesppThe next day that person reported the incident to the commissioners office and turned over the records theyd found Commissioner Ronald Kruzeniski wrote that his staff too scoured the area finding an additional documentppIt also came to light that another person Individual B had noticed the Facebook post and searched the area prior to Individual A collecting records from in and around a blue recycling bin behind the clinicppThese too were turned over to the SIPCppThey thought they had collected about 100 pages the report statesppAn investigation was launched and as it turns out a contracted cleaning employee had dumped the records into an outside bin on Oct 26 2024ppThe open recycling bins inside the Clinic indicated the contents were confidential and for shredding the report statesppGet the latest headlines breaking news and columnsppBy signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network IncppA welcome email is on its way If you dont see it please check your junk folderppThe next issue of Headline News will soon be in your inboxppWe encountered an issue signing you up Please try againppInterested in more newsletters Browse hereppRecords collected by the SIPC were eventually retrieved by Nebeolisa Ezeasor a psychiatrist associated with the clinic and Chukwuemeka Odenigbo also a psychiatrist and the clinics owner after they were in touch with the commissioners officeppMy office also advised them that I would be undertaking an investigation and would be issuing a public investigation report Kruzeniski wroteppMost of the patient records found were copies of a Psychiatric Intake Form according to the reportppThe form contains the patients name date of birth names of primary care physician and counselortherapist and sections to indicate what issues they are currently experiencing the report statesppResponses may regard risk to suicide substance use including illegal substances family backgroundhistory including namesages of family members and details of current or past relationships medications used and history of trauma or abuseppDocuments were also found containing patients addresses as well as health numbers according to the report which notes most of the documents appear to have been dated between October 1st to 4th 2024ppppDr Odenigbo and Dr Ezeasor advised my office that of the 88 affected patients 86 were Dr Ezeasors patients and two were Dr Odenigbos Kruzeniski wrote later noting theyd accepted responsibility for the privacy breachppThe commissioners report added that following the breach Ezeasor and Odenigbo immediately raised the issue with the cleaning contractor It also noted they couldve reached out to those who posted on Facebook and nearby residents to ask if theyd seen or collected any recordsppI find that Dr Odenigbo did not take adequate steps to ensure the breach was fully contained he wrote having noted that the breach occurred on a weekend when there was a football game near the clinic at Mosaic stadium and anyone who passed by may have come across the recordsppFurther Kruzeniski found that the letters written to notify affected patients were lacking ppThe letters should have included what exact data elements were involved for each affected individual and the type of risk associated with those data elements and that they should have also included a oneyear offer of credit monitoring the commissioner wroteppHe also found that Odenigbo and Ezeasor did not adequately identify the root cause of the privacy breach which the commissioner wrote was a lack of sufficient administrative and physical safeguardsppThe report noted Odenigbo and Ezeasor took steps to prevent future breaches of this nature That included placing paper shredders in exam rooms and setting any leftover paper documents in a locked drawer pending shredding at the end of the day until then they may be kept in opentopped recycling binsppTheyve also dedicated one employee to be responsible for shredding instead of multipleppHowever Kruzeniski recommended additional steps These include signing confidentiality agreements with contractors and employees of contractors as well as ensuring theyre trained on privacyppHe also recommended that affected individuals be offered one year of credit monitoringppAdditionally he suggested Odenigbo and Ezeasor create a verification document for use when scanning records which would include a notation on how the paper was destroyedppFinally he recommended they replace recycling bins in the clinic with bins that have lockable covers or simply keep records that await shredding in a locked drawer or cabinetppKruzeniskis full report is available onlineppbharderpostmediacomppppThe Regina LeaderPost has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital 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