Kevin Vink rerports:
A local physician reported the loss of control over more than 1,500 patient records when she was unable to retrieve them upon leaving the Didsbury Medical Clinic to start a clinic of her own, according to officials.
Following an investigation by the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta, Rachel Hayward, portfolio officer for the OIPC, wrote in her investigation report — H2013-IR-01 – that Dr. Dianne Smith did not follow the Health Information Act (HIA), because she did not have a direct contract with the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) provider for the clinic, as outlined in the HIA.
“When custodians do not directly sign agreements with their EMR vendors, they may find themselves in the unfortunate position of not being able to exercise control over health information they need to provide health services,” stated Hayward.
Read more on Carstairs Courier. This really is a teachable moment, and I appreciate the OPIC’s decision to publish it so that others may learn from it.