Researchers at Toronto's St Michael's Hospital collected paper from recycling bins at hospitals over a month and found thousands of documents containing sensitive and potentially identifying patient information made it out of hospitals where they become potential privacy liabilities. The vast majority of patient information was properly disposed of but the research indicates the electronic age has created a stronger incentive to tighten up document disposal practices. Some of the documents contained very sensitive material, such as clinic notes, detailed health records or financial information. The bulk of the sensitive documents came from physicians' offices. The research suggests hospitals dictate that all unwanted documents from doctor's offices should go directly to shredding rather than recycling and recommends hospitals should train custodial staff to recognize personally identifying documents to properly dispose of them.
NBHC Care Experience