Health Record Snooping Nets Hefty Fine

In a recent case out of Goderich, Ontario a $20,000 fine, the highest of its kind in Canada, was handed out for a health privacy violation.

Between September 9, 2014 and March 5, 2015, a Masters of Social Work student accessed the personal health information of 139 individuals including family, friends, and local politicians, among others, without authorization while on placement with a family health team. The student was ordered to pay $25,000 total, which included a $20,000 fine and a $5,000 victim surcharge after pleading guilty to wilfully accessing the personal health information of five individuals.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (the "IPC") recently reported that this was the fourth person convicted under the Personal Health Information Protection Act ("PHIPA"). Under s. 72 of the PHIPA, it is an offence to wilfully collect, use, or disclose personal health information. This and the other offences enumerated in s. 72(1) of the PHIPA are punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 for individuals and $500,000 for...