Danny Lee reports:
A major health NGO in Hong Kong apologised on Saturday for losing patient data from a cervical screening programme at one of its clinics.
The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong, which runs the scheme, said they “lost track” of information from people who came for appointments at its Mong Kok Youth Health Care Centre between January 6 and 17.
The association did not disclose how the data was lost or the number of people affected. Those who went to the centre during this period are advised to contact staff.
Read more on South China Morning Post.
Was this lost “digitally” or on paper? Very confusing description, so I went to the FPAHK web site, and found this notification, prominently linked from their home page:
IMPORTANT NOTICES
3 Feb 2018
FPAHK requests persons who called Mong Kok Youth Health Care Centre during 6-17 Jan 2018 (ref. no. 7309–7413) for appointments under the “Community Care Fund Free Cervical Cancer Vaccination Pilot Scheme” to contact FPAHK at 29197878 or 27704993.
The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (“FPAHK”) requests persons who called its Mong Kok Youth Health Care Centre (“MKYHCC”) during the period from 6 January (Saturday) to 17 January 2018 (Wednesday) (FPAHK ref. no. 7309 – 7413) for appointments under the “Community Care Fund Free Cervical Cancer Vaccination Pilot Scheme” (“Pilot Scheme”) to contact the FPAHK at 29197878 or 27704993.
A list of persons who called the MKYHCC or requested through the online system to make appointments with the MKYHCC under the Pilot Scheme during the above-said period was found missing on 29 January 2018. FPAHK has lost track of those persons who made phone calls for appointments. FPAHK has reported the incident to the Police and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong. As a precaution, persons concerned are advised to stay alert to unknown telephone calls and contact the FPAHK in case of any questions through the telephone numbers above.
FPAHK deeply apologises for the inconvenience caused to the affected persons. To avoid recurrence of similar incidents, FPAHK has drawn up a set of improvement measures for its staff members’ compliance.
The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong
3 February 2018