Chris Purdy, Saskatchewan News Network; and Canwest News Service report:
For the second time in less than a month, boxes of abandoned patient health files have been discovered in vacant office space.
At least 2,000 records were found last week in the Hammond Building in Moose Jaw. About six boxes of files were sitting in an unlocked office, and 73 “banker-style” boxes containing more files were stacked in the building’s basement, where several occupants had access.
Among the abandoned files was a person’s “sexual assault kit.”
“I can’t think of a more sensitive or more prejudicial piece of information,” Saskatchewan’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Gary Dickson, said Sunday.
He said his office is now investigating under the Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) to find out who was last responsible for handling the records.
“It appears to involve a number of different physicians,” Dickson said.
“We think some of these physicians may in fact still be practising in the province.”
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan is helping with the investigation.
Full story – Regina Leader-Post