A Regina doctor is being faulted for poor record-keeping practices after thousands of patient files were discovered in a paper-recycling bin, according to a report by Saskatchewan's privacy commissioner.

"This is without question the largest breach of patient privacy that our office has encountered in eight years since the Health Information Protection Act was enacted," commissioner Gary Dickson said in news release issued Wednesday along with his report.

Dickson was alerted to the files on March 23 after receiving a tip that hundreds of boxes of patient records appeared to have been left in a recycling bin in Regina's south end near some doctors' offices.

According to Dickson, the records were in the care of Dr. Teik Im Ooi, from the Albert Park Family Medical Centre.

He said the records were put in storage beginning in 2005.

Over time, he said, the doctor's office "lost track of the records" and eventually cleaners simply moved many of the boxes into the paper recycling bin.

Thousands had access to files

Dickson also found that, for several years prior to being moved to the dumpster, the files were not properly marked or stored in a secure location.

"It was determined that from 2007 until March 23, 2011, the large volume of PHI [patient health information] was unprotected," Dickson noted in his report. "This included workmen, labourers, staff of Golden Mile Shopping Centre, and a large crowd of more than 3,600 people who toured the basement where the patient files were stored."

The people were in the basement for a special Halloween haunted house event at the mall.

"For me, the most troubling thing is there were 150 boxes of records that were moved ... into the basement [and] only about 25 of them ended up in the recycling bin," Dickson said. "We've not been able to get any kind of a satisfactory explanation as to what happened to the other 125."

Dickson said his examination revealed the boxes contained a wide variety of medical information relating to 2,682 patients. The information ranged from the dates patients visited the doctor to results of lab tests.

Prosecution recommended

Dickson said he found several violations of the Health Information Protection Act and suggested the provincial minister of justice "consider prosecution."

The minister said he has a copy of the commissioner's report and officials were reviewing it.

"As I have said in the past, I expect privacy cases to be prosecuted where the evidence meets the prosecutorial standard," Don Morgan said. "This case is being reviewed at this time to determine if charges can be laid."

Morgan also said he believes Saskatchewan privacy laws are easy to understand and follow.

"The sight of medical records in a public recycling bin was appalling to many people, myself included," Morgan added. "From Mr. Dickson’s report, it seems this was not a momentary lapse of judgment."

For his part, Dickson said he wants the doctor to contact the 2,682 patients he counted in the files and explain to them what happened and "what corrective action will be taken."

A lawyer for the doctor said the landlord of her office building opened a locked room and removed the records without consulting her.