Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) should stop sending screening reports containing personal health information to doctors by paper mail, Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian has ordered.
Cavoukian said the provincial agency has agreed not to send the reports in paper format and decided to transfer the reports via the Internet.
“In many cases, the use of technology to ensure the secure transfer of health information is not only a feasible option, but a necessary one,” Cavoukian said in a press release, adding that she needs to review the security and privacy protective measures of the proposed Web portal.
The latest order comes on the heels of an incident of breach of privacy involving the personal health information of over 7,000 people in the province.
CCO had mailed out screening reports for these patients to their doctors containing the patients’ test results for colon cancer. The reports were sent out using Canada Post’s Xpresspost courier service in February and March.
On July 26, CCO, which serves as the Ontario government’s cancer advisor, formally posted on its website that it could not confirm the doctors’ receipt of these reports.
Cavoukian said paper methods should not have been considered in this situation.
“CCO should not have used a courier service to send paper-based records, which could easily be read on face value, when other viable, more secure and privacy protective options were available,” she said.
The missing reports included the personal health information of 7,130 patients.
CCO worked with Cavoukian to send notification letters to the affected physicians and patients. The agency also developed an FAQ section on its website to specifically address this incident.
The commissioner said CCO needs to review its privacy breach management procedure and conduct additional training to ensure proper handling of future privacy breach incidents.
