The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said patients have been notified after a paper billings file went missing from a diagnostic imaging office at the Health Sciences Centre in early October.
The WRHA said patient information available in the file is limited to patient names, birthdays, the type of tests done, exam names and information specific to the hospital, such as chart reference numbers.
About 1,000 patients were affected by the breach.
WRHA Vice President Réal Cloutier said he does not believe the information will be exploited.
“We don’t believe the file was taken for nefarious reasons, but we have a duty to inform people so that they’re mindful of what has happened,” he said.
The file was stored in a locked room, the authority said, and there was no evidence of forced entry to the area.
“It was a secure area. It was a key-lock building and also the room where the information was enclosed was locked,” Cloutier said.
He added it is suspected only employees have access to the room, but the WRHA still needs to confirm.
“We take our responsibility toward patient privacy very seriously,” Cloutier said. “We are working with an external security company and Winnipeg Police Services to determine what happened and making every effort to recover the file.”
Anyone who received a letter from the WRHA should watch their financial statements as per usual. The WRHA said there’s no indication that patients should take further action to guard their personal health information.
Although privacy breach reporting is not mandatory in Manitoba, the WRHA did notify the Manitoba Ombudsman.
An Ombudsman spokesperson said in an email statement, “The WRHA is currently responding to the breach and during this time we will continue to follow-up with them and monitor the process.”
The Ombudsman’s office said privacy breaches are always considered serious, “and ones of this magnitude are particularly concerning.”
It asks anyone with concerns about their personal health information to contact the office and open a complaint.
