It's an EHR, not a phone directory: 3-month suspension and $8K in hearing costs for pharmacist's peek into woman's health file

An Alberta pharmacist was fined $6,000 in January by the province’s privacy commissioner for retrieving a woman's health information of a woman he got into a car accident with. He's now been suspended for three months by the Alberta College of Pharmacy and ordered to pay up to $8,000 in hearing costs. "Pharmacists cannot use Netcare like a phone directory and are not entitled to access Netcare for personal reasons," wrote the college's discipline tribunal in its discipline decision, referring to Alberta's public electric health records system. Soosai Stanislaus, who practises in Edmonton, admitted to the college’s discipline tribunal that he looked at the woman’s file for one minute but explained that he did this because he was concerned about her health and wanted to help her. Read: Edmonton pharmacist admits to improperly accessing over 100 patient health records While the college did not dispute Stanislaus’ claim that he was trying to be a Good Samaritan, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner stated in its news release in January that Stanislaus looked at the health file as part of an attempt to dissuade the woman from submitting an insurance claim for the car accident. The privacy commissioner subsequently ordered Stanislaus to pay a $5,000-fine plus a $1,000 victim fine surcharge. The Alberta College of Pharmacy’s discipline tribunal said in its decision document that it took these fines into consideration when it decided to order Stanislaus to pay only for hearing costs, and only up to a maximum of $8,000. In July, the college also placed restrictions on Stanislaus’ practice that prevented him from taking on the role of preceptor or pharmacy owner until his case is resolved. According to the decision document, Stanislaus phoned the woman in February 2018, a day after he looked up her information on Netcare. The woman grew suspicious when Stanislaus brought up information that he could not have known unless he had access to her Netcare record, such as the medication dispensed to her and her visit to an emergency department. He also suggested to her that the pain and other medical conditions she was experiencing could be related to her obesity and that it could help if she lost weight, according to the discipline document. The woman’s complaint to the privacy commissioner came to the attention of the Alberta College of Pharmacy after the outcome of the case was published on the commissioner’s website and in the Edmonton Journal. “Regardless of Mr. Stanislaus’ intentions and regardless of the fact that he only briefly viewed (the woman’s) health information and did not share it, clearly he was not authorized or justified in accessing (her) records on Netcare,” wrote the discipline tribunal. “He should never have looked at her personal health information or used it in any way.” Read: Calgary pharmacist suspended for diverting meds for personal use

It's an EHR, not a phone directory: 3-month suspension and $8K in hearing costs for pharmacist's peek into woman's health file

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