CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — An investigation by the information and privacy commissioner determined the Worker's Compensation Board of P.E.I. has for years been falling short in protecting the privacy of complainants.
The public body has been responsible for 47 privacy breaches since late 2011, ranging from a medical report going to an incorrect worker to a cheque and voucher going to the wrong physiotherapy clinic.
The Worker's Compensation Board reports it sent 33,492 pieces of correspondence in 2014 alone, but heavy volume is not a sufficient excuse for avoidable slips, information and privacy commissioner Karen Rose stated in her detailed, 32-page report.
"In this context, some might say that 47 reported breaches (between Oct. 7, 2011 and Aug. 5, 2015) are not excessive,'' Rose wrote.
"In my view, they are excessive if the breach is preventable.''
The board came under Rose's scrutiny after the commissioner determined the disclosure of a complainant's personal information in 2010 was in violation of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
The WCB inadvertently disclosed the complainant's personal information to a third party, unaware that a one-page document containing the complainant's personal information was included in an envelope addressed and mailed to a third party.
The document contains the complainant's name, address, telephone number, a case identification number, the complainant's signature, the date of his signature, the name of the complainant's physician, and the dates of the complainant's appointments with his physician.
Rose makes several recommendations to WCB in her report that is dated Oct. 30, 2015.
She urges the public body to provide education to its management and staff relating to proper information handling methods when collecting, using and disclosing personal information, and about their obligations to protect privacy under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Rose recommends that WCB management and staff training should recognize the vulnerability of workers, whose expectation of privacy is already lowered due to the staturory powers of the pubic body.
She also recommends WCB develop its procedures to make reasonable security arrangements against the risks of unauthorized collection, use, or disclosure, of workers' personal information, and to prevent privacy breaches by disclosures of this nature from occurring in the future.
Luanne Gallant, active CEO of the Workers Compensation Board, says the board is in the early stages of incorporating the recommendations.
"We certainly take this very seriously and we certainly are very happy to work with the commissioner to really enhance our procedures and our awareness of staff and our training of staff,'' Gallant told The Guardian this week.
The WCB has also established a database track to reported instances of privacy breaches.
"We've taken a very proactive approach in keeping a data base,'' she said.
"Every breach is investigated.''
