Privacy Commissioner Elaine Keenan Bengts insists the NWT Health Authority needs to cut out faxing private health records.

Noting the authoritySA国际影视传媒檚 SA国际影视传媒渞eluctanceSA国际影视传媒� to switch, she wrote the technologySA国际影视传媒檚 continued use to transfer health records was SA国际影视传媒渨orrisome,SA国际影视传媒� in

SA国际影视传媒淲hile human error will always be a factor which contributes to privacy breaches, the use of secure digital communication technology can significantly reduce the possibility of a breach as a result of such errors,SA国际影视传媒� she wrote.

SA国际影视传媒淚 continue to encourage health information custodians in the Northwest Territories to prohibit the use of fax machines when dealing with documents containing personal health information, except where absolutely necessary.SA国际影视传媒�

The commissioner also acknowledged two high-profile privacy cases SA国际影视传媒� the theft of a laptop containing a large amount of NWT residentsSA国际影视传媒� personal health information, and the discovery of other records at the Fort Simpson dump.

However, the majority of the 29 health-related files her office opened were minor privacy breaches, SA国际影视传媒渕ost notably misdirected faxes and emails and the mishandling of communications with clients,SA国际影视传媒� she wrote.

Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority did not respond after multiple requests and extensions for comment. 

The commissionerSA国际影视传媒檚 concern with continued fax use has been expressed before: In her previous report, she said that she

Also in this yearSA国际影视传媒檚 report, the commissioner found an SA国际影视传媒渁larmingSA国际影视传媒� number of instances where prescriptions were issued under the wrong name. 

The commissioner also identified a number of issues and fixes concerning Hay River Health and Social Services Authority, which havenSA国际影视传媒檛 been implemented. 

On Oct. 26, the report stated, the Hay River authority called the commissioner to report an improper disclosure, which was under investigation. 

After originally discovering the breach in a performance review of staff, the authority did an audit dating back April 1, 2017, roughly six months before the finding. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 when it found eight clients faced breaches of privacy between Oct. 10 and Oct. 30, 2017.

After she was notified, the Commissioner later found SA国际影视传媒渦nreasonable delaysSA国际影视传媒� while gathering further information on the breach from the authority. This led her to conduct a formal review.

In her annual report, the commissioner outlined the following issues with the Hay River authority:

• SA国际影视传媒渢he lack of clear and prescribed process, 
• the deviation from expected process
• errors in directing files to the wrong specialists,
• the oversharing of information
• the lack of oversight by management,SA国际影视传媒�

She also found that SA国际影视传媒渢he redundant manual processing of (personal health information) resulted in inappropriate use and/or disclosure of the personal health information of eight clients with associated risks to privacy and security of the information.SA国际影视传媒�

She made several recommendations to address these issues, to which the authority said it agreed, but couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 implement any of them, according to the report.

Those recommendations included a review to ensure processing of personal health information are documented as formal, prescribed processes, and also SA国际影视传媒渃learly reflect the expected information and handling requirements.SA国际影视传媒�

She also called for oversight to ensure privacy principles are adhered to, and discrepancies to be addressed in a timely manner. All staff should be properly trained as well, she added. 

Finally she said the authority should do a general privacy audit of its operations, finding, where itSA国际影视传媒檚 non-compliant with legislation, and determining risks to personal health information, while implementing solutions  and plans to address the challenges.

Implementation of this has been delayed until a review of finances and staffing is completed, stated Erin Griffiths, CEO of the authority.

For the same reason, she told News/North over email that there is also a delay implementing the commissioner's recommendation on operational oversight and responses to issues.

Recent steps include rolling out privacy policies provided by the Department of Health and Social Services as per the ministerial directives. She added staff are aware of and understand these policies.

Other efforts include ensuring staff undergo mandatory training upon hire. Additionally, a confidentiality policy review is done with each staff member annually, and is documented on their personal file.