Eastern Health CEO Vickie Kaminski said violating patient privacy won't be tolerated. (CBC)

Two employees with the province's largest health authority have been suspended without pay for snooping through private medical records.

Eastern Health CEO Vickie Kaminski told reporters Wednesday that one incident involved access to records of 10 patients while the second incident involved improper access to nine patient records.

"They were curious. It was their neighbour. It was their daughter's new boyfriend. All kinds of curiosity reasons for accessing the information," Kaminski said.

In both cases, staff members were suspended without pay for three months.

Kaminski said she'd like to see more severe punishment for people who intentionally rifle though patient files.

"We intend to make discipline more severe as we work towards zero tolerance. It is anticipated that a willful breach will lead to termination of the employee's position at Eastern Health," she said.

The incidents were identified through a random, weekly audit of access to patient records.

The health authority said it has contacted most of the patients who had their confidentiality violated.

Briefcase stolen

Kaminski said there was also a third incident involving an accidental breach that occurred when a briefcase was stolen from an employee's vehicle parked outside a bar in St. John's on March 16, 2010.

The briefcase, which was found 48 hours later, contained information about 74 patients at the Janeway children's hospital in St. John's. The information included names, ages, MCP numbers, and in some cases, very detailed medical history and information.

The process of notification for the patients started Wednesday.

Kaminski said an employee who mistakenly breached patient confidentially in the third case will be disciplined – but the authority hasn't yet determined what form the discipline will take.

About 3,000 of Eastern Health's more than 12,000 employees have unlimited access to electronic patient records because of the work they do.

Other employees have limited access on an "as needed" basis.