City pharmacy found in violation of patient privacy

A provincial investigator has found a southwest pharmacy was overzealous in asking for detailed medical information from a patient who was simply asking for a vitamin injection.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner’s office said Thursday that Calgary Co-op Pharmacies’ practice of collecting information on an individual’s immune status every time they seek administration of an injection contravenes the Health Information Act.

In April 2012, a patient contacted the privacy commissioner after being presented with a form that asked if he had “any condition that affects the immune system such as cancer, AIDS, etc.” when he went to the Coop Shawnessy Centre Pharmacy to get a vitamin B12 injection.

According to the patient’s report, he feared being stigmatized because of the immune disorder hesuffered from and that the information demanded was excessive. After being refused treatment without providing the information, he filed a complaint.

According to the office of the commissioner, the Health Information Act says custodians such as those at pharmacies must only collect the most limited amount of health information required to carry out an intended purpose.

The commissioner issued an umber of recommendations to Calgary Co-op Pharmacy, including placing limits on the collection of information, modifying their patient questionnaire and reporting back to the commissioner within 30 days.

Cindy Drummond, manager of communications with the Calgary Co-operative Association, said Thursday that Calgary Co-op Pharmacy’s paramount concern is the health and safety of its customers.

“We were happy to work with the Privacy Commissioner’s office to ensure Calgary Co-op Pharmacy meets the highest standards with respect to the collection of any personal information about its customers.”