By rdnewsNOW staff

Over 6,000 being notified

Patient info stolen during break-in at Red Deer Regional Hospital: AHS

Jun 17, 2019 | 2:56 PM

Alberta Health Services says it is notifying thousands of people after patient information was stolen during a break-in at Red Deer Regional Hospital.

In late April, AHS says two hard drives were stolen from an Electromyogram (EMG) and one of two Electroencephalogram (EEG) machines in the Rehabilitation Department at the hospital during a break-in.

An EMG is used for nerve conduction to help determine neuromuscular disorders, while an EEG is used to test electrical activity within the brain to aid in diagnosing sleep disorders and epilepsy.

AHS says only the hard drive in the EMG machine contained patient information and that investigators believe the likelihood of health information – which officials say was password protected but unencrypted – being used or misused is extremely low.

Following the conclusion of a privacy investigation involving Red Deer RCMP, AHS is notifying 6,129 Albertans that their health information may have been viewed by someone other than their authorized care providers. Notifications are being mailed to the affected individuals today (Monday) in accordance with the Health Information Act. Only those individuals who receive letters were subjects of this breach.

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Individuals receiving notification letters will be able to contact a dedicated call-line available through Health Link (811) to ask any questions they may have. Additionally, contact information for the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (OIPC) has been provided should anyone wish to report a concern related to this incident.

“Alberta Health Services takes the privacy and confidentiality of patient information seriously and has stringent privacy policies in place, including policies pertaining to the electronic storage of patient records,” AHS said in a statement on Monday. “The break-in and theft of the hard drives was reported to the OIPC by AHS and a review of security in the hospital area is underway to identify possible enhancements.”