Two months after a privacy breach took place at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, the hospital is now reporting the incident to the public.
Hospital officials say on March 6, 2017, a document containing sensitive health information about seven patients was found on the front lawn of a community member.
The document was a copy of a Operating Room report and included the patients' names, dates of birth, ages, health card numbers, phone numbers, procedures, and surgeons' names.
A release from the CKHA says a "thorough investigation" was conducted and officials determined that there was no malicious intent and that the patients' personal health information was not compromised.
The seven patients who were affected by the breach were all contacted via letter.
"This is an unfortunate situation and we apologize to those patients affected," says CKHA President and CEO Lori Marshall. "It is our responsibility to notify the Information Privacy Commissioner and we did so as soon as we were made aware of the breach."
Hospital officials say in response to the breach, they have implemented new privacy and security safeguards for records disposal and shredding to prevent something similar from happening in the future.
Any patients who have concerns should contact Jackie Smith at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance's Privacy Office. She can be reached at 519 352 6401 ext. 5231 or by email at jsmith@ckha.on.ca.