Another BC nurse suspended for snooping on medical records

Almost two years since the BC privacy watchdog said that personal medical records were "disturbingly" vulnerable another BC nurse has been suspended for snooping on private information. According to an Oct. 29 BC College of Nurses and Midwives decision, Surrey registered nurse April Libiano was found to have been accessing unauthorized patient records for one year. "Nurses are only permitted to access personal and health information for purposes that are consistent with their professional responsibilities and are not permitted to access the health records of patients that are not in their care," the decision read. The College didn't say how many records Libiano accessed but that she did it from December 2022 to December 2023. No reason is given for why she was able to seemingly access records for such a long period of time without anyone noticing. Libiano was suspended for two months, which is a lengthy suspension compared to what other nurses have received. Penalties dished out to the dozen or so nurses reprimanded in the last few years for snooping on medical records have ranged from four months for a nurse https://infotel.ca/newsitem/ih-nurse-showed-no-remorse-for-accessing-patient-records-got-suspended/it100665 who had a "wanton disregard" for patient privacy, to a few days for others. One nurse who looked at a "significant" number https://infotel.ca/newsitem/another-bc-nurse-suspended-for-snooping-on-medical-records/it104770 was suspended for two weeks. The College is scant on details in Libiano's case and didn't say why or how many records she peeked at. The regulator's website said she works at the BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre in Vancouver. In 2022, then BC Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael McEvoy released a report saying medical records in the public health https://infotel.ca/newsitem/health-privacy/cp743726126 computer system were vulnerable to leaks. "Every British Columbian should be troubled by these findings because it means personal information in the system is vulnerable to misuse and attack," McEvoy said at the time. In Libiano's case, following her suspension, she will have to undertake a course on ethics. The regulator said it is satisfied that the terms will protect the public. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .