Potential Unauthorized Access of Patient Health Records

Reported to Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

All patients affected by this breach are in the process of being notified by mail

Campbellford - Fri., April 14, 2023 – Campbellford Memorial Hospital (CMH) is committed to protecting the privacy of patient information and places a high value on maintaining the confidentiality of personal health information. As part of it’s commitment to patient privacy, CMH has a number of protocols and policies in place to ensure the integrity of patient information.

As part of routine monitoring procedures, officials at CMH learned of a potential unauthorized access to patient health records. Upon learning of this, CMH launched a thorough investigation, which confirmed that a clinician at CMH had inappropriately accessed patient health records.

“We are very disappointed that this privacy breach occurred,” said Jeff Hohenkerk, President and CEO, CMH. “Patients expect us to protect their information and we failed to do so in this case. We apologize to everyone whose information was inappropriately accessed.” CMH has reported the breach to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and all patients affected by this breach are in the process of being notified by mail. Based on its investigation, CMH has concluded that the clinician was not targeting specific patients and that there is no evidence that the clinician copied, reproduced or shared any patient information with anyone else.

The clinician has apologized for the inappropriate accesses and CMH has also taken the opportunity to remind all staff about the importance of respecting patient privacy and to update its staff privacy training.

Patients who receive a notification by mail about this matter and who would like more information are encouraged to reach out to Erin Keogh, Chief Privacy Officer, at 705-653-1140 ext. 2147 or [email protected]