ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — St. John’s lawyers Bob Buckingham and Eli Baker say they will launch a class-action lawsuit in relation to a recent privacy breach by a former employee of Central Health.
Last week, officials with the health authority said an employee had inappropriately accessed the health records of 240 people online over a two-year span. Central Health was informed of a potential privacy breach July 14 and immediately undertook an investigation, they said.
Central Health president and CEO Andree Robichaud issued an apology to the people whose records were involved, saying, “We take confidentiality and privacy very seriously and sincerely regret this happened.”
Robichaud said the organization has taken extra steps to prevent further privacy breaches and was contacting the patients involved.
“Of particular concern in this case is that there is an apparent pattern to quite a few of the incidents respecting the type of medical records which were accessed." — Bob Buckingham
Buckingham said he would have expected the province’s health authorities to have implemented such measures before now, given previous similar breaches.
He wondered how the breach could go undetected for two years.
“Of particular concern in this case is that there is an apparent pattern to quite a few of the incidents respecting the type of medical records which were accessed,” Buckingham said.
“We will be seeking appropriate compensation and guarantees that systems are in place to protect patient medical records in the future.”
Buckingham said he had been asked to represent patients involved and has set up a class-action registration form on his website for those who want to sign on to the lawsuit.
“Anyone who has received notification of the privacy breach by Central Health … has the right to know how their personal, confidential, private health records were violated, when they were violated, how many times they were violated and the nature of the violation. They may be entitled to monetary compensation,” he said.
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