(Quebec) Following the revelations of The Press, Minister Christian Dubé orders the CEOs of health establishments to verify illegal access to patient medical records and to dismiss offending employees, if necessary.
” [Ce que j’ai dit, c’est] give me the extent of what happened and if CEOs have to take action with certain employees, we will take them, ”said the Minister of Health on Thursday. “It can go as far as a dismissal,” he said in a press scrum.
The Press reported Thursday that the medical file of host Véronique Cloutier was consulted several times by staff without valid reason. The case of M.me Cloutier is just the tip of the iceberg, as thousands of breaches of medical secrecy have taken place. Quebec is unaware of the real extent of the problem for the time being.
“What happened in the case of Mme Cloutier, for me, it’s totally unacceptable, whether it’s for Mr.me Cloutier or any Quebecers. There is no one who should have access to their data despite the dilapidated state of our systems,” he argued.
Christian Dubé confirmed Thursday that the Deputy Minister of Health, Dominique Savoie, sent a directive to all CEOs of health establishments at the start of the week to log access to medical records. This operation allows you to view the log of computer operations performed in a system, such as who had access and when.
The Minister of Health, however, said he wanted to go further. Mr. Dubé explained that he is considering the possibility of asking health establishments to “take samples” to try to measure the extent of the problem.
” That The Press succeeded in doing this morning in his search, that is to say [demander] to Mme Cloutier to participate because they are [ses] data. I want to find a way to go see without asking all Quebecers and respecting the current law. Couldn’t we take samples in places to see if there were others? “, Illustrated the minister.
In response to questions from journalists, Mr. Dubé even indicated that he would ask for his medical file to be logged. ” It’s a good idea ! “, he launched.
New data law
The directive sent by Dominique Savoie reminds the CEOs of establishments that it is their responsibility to ensure the logging of their informational assets. “Regular audits must be carried out, with corrective actions in the event of inappropriate consultations of these assets”, writes the senior official in the missive sent on May 4.
Mme Savoie also points out to them that a budget increase of $87 million has been granted for technological modernization.
The Legault government had the adoption in March of the Health and Social Services Information Act (former bill 3) which will make it possible to have a single centralized computer system and to modernize the current computer equipment. In particular, it will impose criminal penalties on those who consult medical records without justification. The law will be fully in force next year.
“Disturbing” revelations
“It’s extremely serious,” responded Liberal health critic André Fortin. “Me, it’s the very last line [de l’article] which strikes me, that in Ontario there have been 11,000 cases of privacy breaches through improper sharing of health data. »
If there were 11,000 in Ontario, there are only a few dozen in Quebec. It is a phenomenon that probably has a similar magnitude.
André Fortin, Liberal Health Critic
The MP for Pontiac also points out that the Commission d’accès à l’information “made very specific requests for additional powers to crack down on people who access health data inappropriately” during consultations on the project. law 3.
“Medical data should be sacred,” said the parliamentary leader of Quebec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
“It’s the most confidential data of all confidential data or thereabouts. It is very disturbing to see this. I don’t think I was the only one this morning reading the article to say to myself: Oh! What about my medical records? What about my personal information? I think that many Quebeckers will ask themselves this question. We have to shed some light on this, ”he asked.
“We learn today on the front page of The Press that medical secrecy is flouted on a daily basis almost everywhere. In fact, we don’t have the scale of the problem,” laments PQ health spokesperson Joël Arseneau. “I think Minister Dubé has all the levers to investigate, see the extent of the problem and take action. It is trust in the healthcare system that is at risk,” he added.
With Hugo Joncas