Tracy Tong reports:
A plan to consolidate regional lab services could compromise the confidentiality of Ottawans’ health records, an area lawyer charged yesterday.
The Champlain Local Health Integration Network – which includes 15 eastern Ontario hospitals, including Ottawa’s – is planning on consolidating many services at a “superlab†in partnership with an American company that could be ordered to turn over patient records to the United States, lawyer Steven Shrybman said.
Under the U.S. Patriot Act, the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court can issue orders to access the corporate lab services’ records, including those of its Canadian subsidiaries, said Shrybman, whose legal opinion was obtained by the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
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