Personal information of up to 225 minors may have been on a laptop that was stolen from the Northern Regional Health Authority (NRHA) administration building in March.
The theft of the laptop was discovered March 27. The computer contained client names, birth dates, genders, personal health information numbers (PHINs) and the results of one or two specific tests, the NRHA said in a May 24 press release.
The laptop is password protected as are the specific clinical programs containing client information.
“Despite this, the NRHA is taking steps to disclose this information out of an abundance of caution to notify those clients,” said the press release, adding that parents and guardians of the people whose names may be on the laptop have been notified and provided contact information if they require more information. The theft was reported to Thompson RCMP, who have investigated the incident.
“The NRHA takes client and patient privacy very seriously,” said the NRHA. “Every staff person within the region attends obligatory training on the privacy of health information and signs a pledge of confidentiality. The region also has policies and procedures designed to prevent these types of incidents from occurring. While the NRHA believes the risk to individuals is very low, we feel it is our responsibility to share this information with the public."
