By rdnewsNOW staff

Alberta Health Services

Red Deer clerk fined for illegally accessing health information

Aug 29, 2019 | 11:07 AM

A former billing clerk with Alberta Health Services (AHS) recently pleaded guilty in Red Deer Provincial Court to illegally accessing health information under the Health Information Act (HIA).

Rosario Aldave was found to have accessed the health records of 52 Albertans without authorization. She entered guilty pleas on August 21 and received a $5,000 fine and was ordered not to access health information for one year.

The unauthorized accesses occurred in Red Deer, according to a media release from the province.

AHS says it discovered the breaches of health information after it began an internal audit of an electronic health records system.

AHS started the audit after being alerted to allegations that Aldave had accessed health information without authorization. AHS reported the breaches to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) in June 2018.

Dec. 10

RDP holds pinning ceremony for graduating nursing students

11h ago

get in the car!

Maps for 2025 Red Deer Christmas Lights tour

13h ago

predictable taxation

Chamber calls Red Deer County's draft budget 'disciplined'

13h ago

The OIPC opened an offence investigation and referred its findings to the Specialized Prosecutions Branch of Alberta Justice. Charges were laid in July 2019.

It is an offence under HIA to knowingly gain or attempt to gain access to health information in contravention of the Act (section 107(2)(b)).

This was the second conviction against an individual for knowingly accessing health information in contravention of HIA in 2019. It marked the eleventh conviction under HIA overall.