Privacy risks of health information
Manitobans deserve answers about how their personal health information is collected, accessed and protected. Three everyday practices warrant public scrutiny: repeatedly requesting birth dates at pharmacies; exposing historical medical records to reception staff; and requiring callers to disclose personal details to Health Links.
A Manitoba health card proves health coverage. Why must patients repeatedly disclose their birth dates to collect prescriptions? What assumptions or biases might arise from a person’s age or outdated medical history? Being classified as “authorized personnel” does not eliminate the risk of unnecessary scrutiny.
I have personally experienced the distress of a doctor’s receptionist drawing attention to a decades-old medical entry by asking, “Is this you?” A last name which had apparently been removed legally was visible again. Patients should not have to explain or relive painful chapters of their past simply because historical information appears on a screen.
Health Links raises similar questions. Why must callers provide personal details, including where they live, if these are not necessary to answer their health questions? Are birth dates and addresses truly necessary for identification in every circumstance, and are less intrusive alternatives available such as a different code?
Manitoba’s Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) establishes protections governing the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information, including limiting collection to what is necessary and access to those who need it. Are these principles being meaningfully upheld in everyday health care, or is access accepted simply because someone works in a health-care setting?
Manitoba must review pharmacy identification procedures, access to historical records and Health Links’ information requirements. Patients deserve transparency about why their information is needed, the ability to correct outdated records and meaningful accountability when privacy is compromised.
Seeking health care should never mean surrendering your dignity. Our medical histories are deeply personal. Manitobans deserve answers, accountability and meaningful protection from unnecessary exposure of their private information.
ALICE RICE Winnipeg