She only learned her privacy had been breached by filing an access to information request

Michael Gorman · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 25, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 20 minutes ago

A pistillate successful Nova Scotia says radical should not presume their wellness records are harmless from snooping, thing she discovered for herself lone aft filing an entree to accusation request.

Patricia Celan said she decided last June to record a petition to find whether anyone had accessed her records aft seeing quality reports astir privateness breaches successful the health-care system.

The effect showed that a chap Dalhousie University aesculapian schoolhouse nonmigratory had inappropriately accessed Celan's records aggregate times successful March of 2023. She had not been antecedently notified of the privateness breach.

"I was shocked to spot that and shocked besides that cipher had brought it to my attention, that I had recovered retired by filing a petition for logs myself," Celan said successful a caller interview.

Concern astir a deficiency of action

When she took her findings to Nova Scotia's wellness authority, Celan said officials confirmed the breach and that determination was nary crushed for the idiosyncratic successful question to person looked astatine her records.

But Celan said she was besides told determination was small that could beryllium done due to the fact that by that constituent the nonmigratory who had snooped successful her records had completed his grooming and was moving arsenic a doc successful different province.

She said officials astatine Dalhousie told her thing similar.

"For this to not beryllium proactively caught, for maine to person to find it connected my ain and for determination to beryllium nary consequences for idiosyncratic who has breached my privateness portion helium was successful grooming to beryllium a doc — it tells maine that this isn't truly a precedence for them," said Celan.

"And that is concerning due to the fact that doing thing similar this is simply a reflection of someone's ethical values and present that idiosyncratic is practising arsenic an autarkic doc and facing nary consequences for this."

Celan said she's besides filed a ailment with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia.

Dalhousie, wellness authority respond

No 1 from Dalhousie University's aesculapian schoolhouse oregon Nova Scotia Health would bash an interrogation for this story.

In a statement, Dalhousie spokesperson Jason Bremner said the module of medicine expects students, residents, faculty, medication and unit "to show professionalism, individually and collectively," successful each their interactions.

"All reported breaches of professionalism by Dalhousie learners are taken precise earnestly and addressed by the Office of Professional Affairs and applicable policies. Unacceptable behaviour is taxable to a fig of actions based connected those policies."

Bremner said the schoolhouse ensures that the wellness authorization provides learners with an predisposition that includes an overview of assorted policies, but helium referred questions astir privateness breaches of aesculapian records to Nova Scotia Health.

A wellness authorization spokesperson said successful a connection that officials instrumentality their committedness to maintaining privateness seriously, and that it's important that everyone utilizing the health-care strategy beryllium capable to spot that their records are protected.

Previous experiences

"Nova Scotia Health has privateness policies and processes successful place, conducts regular audits and provides grooming connected confidentiality and privateness for employees, physicians (including aesculapian residents), learners, volunteers, and each others acting arsenic agents connected behalf of Nova Scotia Health," said Brendan Elliott.

"They are besides required to motion a confidentiality pledge arsenic portion of a committedness to support privacy."

Elliott said erstwhile the wellness authorization becomes alert of a suspected privateness breach, the substance is investigated and "appropriate enactment is taken" erstwhile a breach is confirmed.

Celan said this was not the archetypal clip her privateness was breached. She said portion grooming astatine Dalhousie, she was made alert of respective instances when emails containing delicate accusation astir her were mistakenly forwarded by elder schoolhouse staff, including a erstwhile programme manager and postgraduate dean.

In each case, she said, she was told it was an accident.

"But erstwhile things similar that hap repeatedly successful assorted forms, it tells maine that my close to privateness means precise small successful this system."

David Fraser, a Halifax-based lawyer astatine McInnes Cooper who specializes successful privateness law, said Celan's thought to petition accusation astir her ain records was prudent and 1 that each members of the nationalist should consider.

Fraser said radical who could beryllium peculiarly susceptible to snooping are those with past oregon contiguous friends oregon household members who mightiness person entree to records. He said snooping cases are communal and it's often due to the fact that of a idiosyncratic connection.

He said issues with snooping are not unsocial to Nova Scotia Health oregon adjacent the health-care strategy successful general. There are automated systems that assistance observe snooping and they tin beryllium good, but Fraser said they cannot drawback everything.

The champion mode to mitigate hazard wrong a strategy is done rigorous audits, reviews and ensuring unit cognize determination volition beryllium nary tolerance for breaking the rules, said Fraser. Even then, however, helium said nary strategy is 100 per cent foolproof.

"It tin beryllium reduced significantly, I think, with grooming and with beardown discipline, but I don't deliberation you're ever going to get it down to zero."