After requesting his medical records, a Carleton alumnus received more than he anticipated from Health and Counselling services when they accidentally sent him part of another person’s file.
Jesse Lutersz, who graduated in May 2013, requested his file this summer. In most cases, copies of health records can be requested by patients and include notes and other information from health professionals, including those at Carleton Health and Counselling.
Included in Lutersz’s file was another student’s personal information.
“The record had extremely personal details from a time in someone’s life when they were clearly turning to health services to find help, and they had the record of this challenging time sent to a stranger,” he said. “If it was simply someone’s blood type or a general note about a visit to the doctor I’d likely let it slide.”
Now he said he is worried that some of his own information might be missing as well.
“I find this entirely unacceptable and a complete breach of trust between students and their healthcare providers,” he said.
Lutersz filed complaints with Maureen Murdoch, director of Campus Health Services, and Robert Moher, the university’s privacy co-ordinator.
“The complainant’s own personal information was never released,” Moher said. “A physician who examined the complainant wrote a note intended for another patient on to the complainant’s medical file by mistake. This was a human error that should not have occurred.”
The Carleton privacy office’s website states “the university ensures that the information gathered for one purpose is not being used inappropriately for another, and that the privacy of an individual is not compromised by disclosure of personal information to third parties without the proper approvals.”
Lutersz said he has also reached out to the province’s privacy commissioner to file a formal complaint, and has been cautioned against sharing more information.
“I still haven’t been told whether or not they’ve informed the student the records are from that their information was given out,” Lutersz said.
While he maintains Moher and Murdoch were helpful and apologetic regarding his situation, Lutersz said he stills feels uncomfortable.
“If the personal mental health records of students are being mismanaged by Carleton we need to find out the root cause and end it,” he said.
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