The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is alerting 1,756 patients that their private information was inappropriately accessed by an emergency department nurse.
The WRHA says the breach occurred when the nurse had access to the emergency department information system at one site, but accessed private patient details while working at Grace Hospital.
“Access to our emergency data information system is vital for nurses and staff working within the emergency department to ensure they have access to and can share information about the provision of care at any point in their shift,” said Lori Lamont, acting chief operating officer for the WRHA.
“The only time that information may be used outside of the emergency department, however, is for patient transfers — which did not occur in this instance.”
The health authority says they first became aware of the breach on March 12, 2018 and a manager told the individual to stop accessing the information unnecessarily. A thorough audit was initiated and was completed April 9, 2018 and identified the number of individuals affected.
The nurse has told the WRHA he/she hasn’t kept or retained any information from these searches and there is no evidence any reports were printed.
All affected patients will be contacted in the coming weeks to be alerted to the breach.
