NL Health Services has reported yet another privacy breach, this time concerning an incident related to an email sent to 253 pediatric patients’ parents and guardians, all of whom have diabetes.
Furthermore, the breach occurred when the recipients of the email were not blind-copied, inadvertently revealing each other’s email addresses. NL Health Services swiftly addressed the issue, with CEO David Diamond expressing his regret and apologizing for the breach. The organization is actively contacting individuals on the email list, urging them to delete the email and other related addresses. Furthermore, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has been informed of the incident.
Stephen Greene, NL Health Services’ V-P for privacy, emphasized the importance of publicly disclosing and discussing such privacy breaches as a means of reinforcing awareness among healthcare workers regarding their obligation to safeguard patient privacy.
While NL Health Services has measures in place to protect patient health information, they continue to work on ensuring the proper protocols are followed. It’s worth noting that a similar privacy breach affecting more than 100 patients occurred in July, this time involving Newfoundland and Labrador Fertility Services.
This latest incident underscores the ongoing challenges faced by healthcare organizations in protecting patient privacy and the need for continued vigilance in safeguarding sensitive medical information.
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