By paNOW Staff

Regina doctor responsible for privacy breach

Jul 20, 2011 | 4:17 PM

One Regina doctor — Dr. Teik Im Ooi — is being blamed for a massive privacy breach that saw dozens of boxes of patient information thrown into a recycling bin.

Gary Dickson, Saskatchewan's privacy commissioner, has released a report on what he calls the single largest health privacy breach in Saskatchewan over the last eight years. His report states Dr. Ooi and the Albert Park Family Medical Centre bear the brunt of the blame for the breach.

Dr. Ooi’s Lawyer responds

Timothy Stodalka, Dr. Ooi's lawyer, issued a statement that disagrees with the privacy commissioner’s recommendation that charges should be laid.

Stodalka insists the landlord they leased storage space from is to blame because he didn't alert the medical centre before staff disposed of the files.

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“Sometime in 2008, the janitorial staff of the Golden Mile [Mall] cut the lock off the stall without Dr. Ooi’s knowledge or permission,” said Stodalka.

But privacy commissioner Gary Dickson insists a lease is not enough — doctors need to have a specific contract pertaining to medical file storage.

Justice Minister Don Morgan insists that privacy is a priority for the government and patients.

Morgan admits one of the most troubling aspects is the fact there are still 125 boxes of records from the clinic are still unaccounted for.

Dr. Ooi is out of the country dealing with family matters. Close friend Lynda Haverstock as well as Dr. Ooi's lawyer Timothy Stodalka spoke to reporters on Wednesday morning on her behalf.

Haverstock says that Dickson is being unfair. She says Dr. Ooi carried out her responsibilities for the files with professionalism.

Patient files found in March

It started back on March 23 when Dickson's office received a tip that dozens of boxes of patients records were thrown into a blue recycling bin in the city's south end. In total, more than 2,500 patient files and 180,000 pieces of personal health information were contained.

Dickson says the files originated from a nearby doctor's office. The report indicates the records had been in storage starting in 2005 but the office lost track of them over time.

They had been moved from a locked storage room in the basement of the Golden Mile Shopping Centre after a water leak. Cleaning staff employed by the mall eventually moved the boxes into the bin to be recycled.

Haverstock says the responsibilities physicians have for patient files takes away time that could be dedicated to patients. She would like to see a common facility for Sasktachewan physicians to maintain “dead” files.

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