B.C. should spread word of PharmaNet data fix, says watchdog

As the provincial government investigates four cases of illegal access to personal information from B.C.’s PharmaNet prescription database, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association is asking why the province hasn’t told all users about a simple fix to lock down their data.

“You go into your pharmacy and say you want to lock down your records with a key word,” BCCLA policy director Micheal Vonn said Thursday. “With a key word, you have to give it to them every time you fill a prescription, but you know that only the people who are attending to your health care have access to your records.”

The PharmaNet system links all B.C. pharmacies to a central set of data systems and logs every prescription dispensed in the province.

All B.C. pharmacists and many doctors have access to all data in the PharmaNet system that isn’t protected by a patient’s personal keyword, Vonn said.

According to a B.C. Ministry of Health statement made this week, between the fall of 2016 and February 2017, the government became aware of and launched an investigation into four incidents of unusual activity where unknown individuals accessed personal information contained in the PharmaNet system. The system has a basic profile for each individual that includes name, address, date of birth, personal health number and gender. The past 14 months of an individual’s medication history is also stored in PharmaNet.

The investigation has affected 14 physicians, the statement said. Approximately 7,500 individuals have had their basic profiles viewed, and about 80 others also had their recent medication histories viewed.

The ministry said it is sending out letters to patients and doctors affected by the breach, advising how to avoid identity theft.

Vonn urged the government to make all PharmaNet users aware of the keyword security options.

“They have had a number of breaches in the PharmaNet database now,” Vonn said. “I was a privacy lawyer for two years before I found out that you can do this. I can also tell you that many people have experienced having to educate their pharmacists about the keyword security feature. It is really not well-publicized.”