Abandoned medical records found in boxes

REGINA, Saskatchewan, March 25 (UPI) -- The Canadian province of Saskatchewan's privacy commissioner is investigating why boxes of printed medical records were found in a vacant office.

Commissioner Gary Dickson told the Regina Leader-Post an anonymous complaint tipped off investigators to five large boxes in an empty office in the city of Yorkton.

He said there were records for as many as 900 patients, and that the commercial site hasn't recently been rented as a doctor's office, the newspaper said.

Dickson said doctors in the province have a legal duty to safeguard all personal health information in their control, and violations can result in fines of $50,000 for an individual or as high as $500,00 for an organization.

Although the province has yet to fine anyone for lapses, Dickson said previous cases have arisen when a doctor retired or moved away from the province and didn't make provisions for records' secure disposal.

Bryan Salte, spokesman for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan said the college will participate in the privacy commission's inquiry, the newspaper said.