REGINA – The Saskatchewan government supports recommendations to help improve enforcement responsibilities to protect personal health information.
The Health Records Protection Working Group has submitted a report that recommends changes to the Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) to deal with abandoned records.
“We take seriously the protection of privacy of the personal health information of Saskatchewan residents,” Health Minister Dustin Duncan said. “I want to thank the working group for their many hours of work, and for the recommendations they put forward to ensure patient records are kept secure and confidential.”
“I’m pleased that steps are being taken to better secure patient records,” Justice Minister and Attorney General Gordon Wyant said. “There is currently a gap in the legislation and these proposed amendments will help ensure that health records are properly protected in our province.”
The working group recommended that HIPA be amended to address the following areas:
• Strict liability offence: If records are found abandoned, the trustee responsible for the records would need to show they took all reasonable steps to prevent the abandonment. Sometimes called the “reverse onus” clause, this change will forgo a need to prove the trustee intended to abandon the records.
• Individual offence for willful disclosure of personal information: Making it clear that HIPA offences for intentional disclosure of personal health information apply not only to trustees, but to individuals who are employees of trustees.
• Snooping offence: A specific offence be established for inappropriate use of personal health information by employees who access information without a need for that information.
• Take control of abandoned records: A specific provision be added to HIPA for a system to be put in place to quickly respond to a discovery of abandoned records and to take control of the records.
“I support these recommendations and I intend to seek approval to bring forward the legislative amendments,” Duncan said. “These changes will help strengthen the protection of personal health records and increase the accountability of trustees and employees in protecting those records.”
The Health Records protection Working Group was put together in 2012 after a number of medical records were found abandoned in a Regina dumpster.
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