Health records from Regina hospital end up as props on children's TV show
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TIM COOK
Canadian Press
Monday, September 15, 2003
REGINA (CP) - Confidential health records ended up being used as props on
the set of a children's television show and health officials were
scrambling Monday to explain why.
The 1,326 billing records were compiled in late 1989 and 1990 in the
emergency room of the now-decommissioned Plains Health Centre. The
one-page, green forms contained information including patient addresses,
their reason for the visit and initial treatment, said Patrick Dumelie,
senior vice-president with the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region.
They were taken from a locked storage room and inadvertently used as props
in the show Renegade Press - a youth drama set to air in January on
networks including TVOntario, the Aboriginal Peoples' Television Network
and Access Learning.
"I would like to sincerely apologize for this incident," Dumelie told
reporters late Monday afternoon.
"It's a very serious incident and we treat it that way. These forms
originated out of our finance department but they contain medical
information. Our goal is to ensure absolute privacy and confidentiality for
all medical information contained or held by the health region."
The records, which were in a box, were mistakenly picked up by the film
company when some office equipment was rented for a different production,
said Virginia Thompson, a Gemini-award winning producer and co-creator of
the show.
"This was a complete accident," Thompson said. "We are a children's
television show and have absolutely no interest in people's personal
medical history."
The health region became aware of the problem when a former patient
complained that her friend had seen her billing sheet on the set.
Dumelie said the production staff has co-operated fully and returned all
the records. The health region is now reviewing its policies to see how
similar information leaks can be prevented in the future.
It's not the first time privacy issues have arisen in Saskatchewan.
Last January, a near panic ensued when a hard drive went missing from the
Regina branch of the data management firm ISM.
The hard drive included information from thousands of Canadians, including
clients with Winnipeg-based Investors Group, Co-operators Life Insurance
and various Saskatchewan government departments.
It was eventually recovered by police and an employee pleaded guilty to
possession of stolen property.
Saskatchewan Party MLA Brenda Bakken said the latest breech is inexcusable
and the police should be called in to investigate.
"I think it is very alarming," Bakken said. "I would hope that they would
call in the police and get to the bottom of this. I think the people of
Saskatchewan have a right to know."
� Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press
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