A former Alberta Health Services (AHS) employee pleaded guilty on Monday, Feb. 7 to accessing health information in contravention of the Health Information Act (HIA).
Marie Mushinski accessed the health information of 189 individuals 985 times over a two-year period. None of the 189 individuals were patients in the AHS unit where she worked as a clerk.
Ms. Mushinski was fined $5,000, plus a $1,000 victim fine surcharge, for the infractions and given 18 months of probation, including not being employed in any capacity that allows her to have access to health information.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) opened an offence investigation into Ms. Mushinski’s actions after AHS reported the breaches in June 2020. Charges were laid in April 2021.
It is an offence under HIA to knowingly access health information in contravention of the Act (section 107(2)(b)).
There have been 20 convictions in Alberta for HIA offences.