Edmonton pharmacist fined for accessing health info after collision, using it against other person

An Edmonton-based pharmacist was fined for inappropriately accessing the health information of a person they were involved in a collision with.

A news release from Alberta’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner said pharmacist Stanislaus Soosai accessed the health information of a person he was in an automobile collision with.

The OIPC said he then attempted to persuade the individual from submitting an insurance claim for the collision.

The person submitted a complaint in April 2018 to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC), which opened an investigation into Soosai’s actions.

Upon conclusion of its investigation, the OIPC referred findings to the specialized prosecutions branch of Alberta Justice, and charges were laid in July 2019.

Soosai received a $5,000 fine, plus a $1,000 victim fine surcharge, on Friday, Jan. 15 for using health information in contravention of the Health Information Act (HIA).

It is an offence under HIA to knowingly use health information in contravention of the Act (section 107(2)(a)).

There have been 18 convictions since 2001 for offences under Health Information Act.