Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50883
means a committed effort to ensuring the safety and security of that informa- tion. For eHealth Ontario that means an entire department has been set up dedi- cated to security and privacy. Johnson says eHealth Ontario also has "very rigourous" contractual requirements with software and network suppliers to ensure patient information is kept pri- vate and can't be hacked into. Recent polls have shown Canadians are continuing to be aware of, and con- cerned with, the privacy of their health records, says Heather McLaren, chief privacy and risk officer for Manitoba eHealth. Clearly, Canadians don't want potentially embarrassing information about them — such as having a sexually transmitted disease — to become known to anybody outside of their physician. "There's a fear that it's more vulnerable in a computer system." While electronic systems aren't fool- proof, McLaren says health authorities have the ability to make patient infor- mation not only very difficult to access, but they can also find out who has been looking at it and why. That's a quantum leap from security in a paper-based sys- tem. "If you think of the last time you were in a doctor's office, most patients' files are in a filing cabinet. When the nurse goes to change the paper on the examining table, there's nothing to pre- vent somebody from pulling out a file, looking at it, and putting it back." There have been a number of high- profile cases in both Canada and the U.S. where hospital staff members have gone online and looked at the medical records of celebrities and other people of note. McLaren says systems can be programmed with a VIP alert that sends a note to the hospital's privacy officer if anybody accesses that person's records. "Those kinds of things are possible in an electronic system, they're not practically possible in a paper system." British Columbia was the first 34 • OCTOBER 2009 If you think of the last time you were in a doctor's offi ce, most patients' fi les are in a fi ling cabinet. When the nurse goes to change the paper on the examining table, there's nothing to prevent somebody from pulling out a fi le, looking at it, and putting it back. HEATHER MCLAREN, Manitoba eHealth Canadian province to adopt an e-health program. A spokesman with the B.C. Ministry of Health Services says another safeguard to protect patient data is that the systems are designed to only provide health record access to authorized medi- cal professionals. "A health professional's role will deter- mine what information they can access in the electronic health record and what action they are permitted to take on that information," says Ryan Jabs, adding patients may also request a report about who has viewed their health data. Because the industry and its technol- ogy are growing so quickly, Johnson says in-house counsel are challenged on an ongoing basis to ensure its security processes and procedures aren't left in the dust. One of the key players in keeping the battle as proactive as possible is its strat- egy department. "They have their finger on the pulse of where things are going. But it drives things as well. We fund a lot of projects and create software solutions for doctors in hospitals," Johnson says. Despite technology's checks and bal- ances, the occasional privacy breach has cropped up. For example, a computer hacker broke through the defences of the Alberta Health Services system in May and had a chance to view and photograph the files of nearly 11,600 people. INHOUSE "That's our worst nightmare," Johnson says. "We dedicate so much time and effort to avoiding that. It would be a gross violation of a patient's rights." McLaren says illegally obtained medi- cal information could be used to embar- rass somebody, such as an ex-spouse in a custody battle. The husband, for example, may want to know if his former wife is on medication for depression or anxiety and could use the information to bolster his case in court. She says medical personnel who fail to uphold their professional obligation to protect patient data could face charges under the Personal Health Information Act. The provincial ombudsman has the power to investigate the breach and make recommendations to prevent fur- ther incidents but can't award financial damages, she says. Repeated offences could see the matter brought before the provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons, which could result in outright dismissal, she says. But e-health is more than just pro- tecting the privacy of a patient's medical history. It's also playing a growing role in the provision of better health services. For example, because it shows the com- plete health picture of a patient, doctors are able to take action more quickly, accurately, and avoid prescribing medi- cation that may interact negatively with a previously prescribed drug.