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May 19, 2024 - 6:30 AM
A BC nurse has been suspended for snooping on the health records of a "significant" number of patients.
According to a May 13 BC College of Nurses and Midwives decision, Burnaby-based registered nurse Nadia Ali accessed the medical records between May and August 2023.
The nursing regulator doesn't say how many records Ali snooped on only that it was a "significant number."
The nurses looked at these records even though they weren't her patients and she had no work-related reason to access them.
The College doesn't say where Ali was working when she breached the patients' privacy but records show she currently works at the Nicola Lodge in Port Coquitlam.
Ali signed a Consent agreement admitting to her conduct and received a two-week suspension.
In the last two years, more than a dozen nurses have been reprimanded and suspended for accessing patient records they weren't supposed to.
Suspensions ranged from two weeks to four months for one nurse who showed "no remorse" for repeatedly accessing patient records, including those of a family member.
In 2022, former BC Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael McEvoy said that medical records were "disturbingly" vulnerable to leaks.
Along with the suspension, Ali will also have to undertake education in privacy and confidentiality.
The College says that it's satisfied that the conditions will protect the public.
UPDATE: This story was updated 2:45 p.m. Monday, Jul. 29, 2024, to add that the nurse received a two-week suspension.
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