Ontario’s privacy commissioner is still looking into a data breach that happened at hospitals in the Waterloo region about six months ago.
The Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN), which runs hospitals in Kitchener, sent out letters to patients in March, expressing regret over a data breach that affected their connection with a third-party system used to provide primary health care providers with patient care information.
This system is managed by Ontario Health. WRHN stated that the breach did not impact its internal systems and was controlled on January 13.
The Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) of Ontario was informed about the breach on February 9.
Now, six months later, when someone calls the privacy commissioner’s main phone line, they hear an automated message.
“If you have been affected by the privacy breach at the Waterloo Regional Health Network, there is no need to file a complaint with our office as our investigation is already underway,” the message says in part.
“We recognize that this is a stressful time and appreciate your patience while we conduct our investigation.”
In its message, the IPC encourages people to reach out directly to WRHN if they have any further questions through an email and phone number set up for inquiries regarding the privacy breach.
WRHN had earlier confirmed that the data breach was contained shortly after it was discovered and did not affect clinical records or patient care.
However, they also mentioned they can’t rule out that personal health information might have been compromised.
WRHN indicated that information potentially exposed could include clinical details related to the care provided to 150,000 individuals between April 2025 and January 2026.
No updates available since March: WRHN
When someone calls WRHN’s hotline for information about the privacy breach, there’s another recorded message stating, “We are receiving a significant volume of messages and.. as a reminder, our systems remain secure and the risk to personal health information is believed to be low.”
The recorded message from WRHN asks callers to leave a brief message including their name and contact details.
inquired if there were any updates since the breach occurred six months ago and when more details might be available for the public regarding what happened.
In response, WRHN stated there are no new updates since their letter issued in March.
“The risk continues to remain low. WRHN continues notifying potentially affected patients out of an abundance of caution; however, no action is required from patients,” said the health network.
No updates during ongoing investigation: IPC office
asked whether there were any updates on their investigation and why there’s a recorded message for those calling about WRHN’s data breach.
The privacy commissioner’s office sent back a brief statement confirming no new details are available at this time.
“As we are currently investigating this matter, we cannot provide additional details at this time. However, we would be happy to inform you of the outcome once it has been resolved,” part of their statement reads.
The statement did not specify how many calls have been received by their office.
“If someone feels that their personal health information has been impacted by this incident they can file a complaint with our office; though it’s not necessary as we’re already looking into it.”
Source link
Source link
