A Horizon Health Network employee has been fired after they "inappropriately accessed" the personal health information of 1,251 people at Charlotte County Hospital in St. Stephen, N.B., allegedly "out of curiosity." In a statement, Horizon's vice-president of quality and patient-centred care, Margaret Melanson, describes the situation as a "significant privacy breach." The privacy breach was discovered during an audit of electronic accesses to personal health information through Allscripts, it states. - Kelly Chase, Horizon's chief privacy officerA health information management clerk accessed the information "with no work-related need to know, contrary to Horizon's privacy policies and the [provincial] privacy legislation," according to the letter. Any patients and clients with concerns about their privacy are encouraged to connect with Horizon's chief privacy officer, she said.

Source: CBC News July 08, 2021 14:45 UTC