Personal information of clients - children - of a speech and hearing clinic at UWO, has gone missing. The data was being kept on a USB memory stick at an employee's desk, and was misplaced when office space was being re-organized. It has been said that when bad things happen, the main concern then is how people respond to it - what they do about it.
In this case, an attempt was made by campus security to locate the tiny stick, without success, and eventually, letters were sent out to the parents of the 4500 children involved. Various experts have given their views, from a health-systems management expert, a medical officer of health, university officials, and Ontario's information and privacy commissioner. Precautions the family can take have been suggested (Kids' personal info, April 19), while blame has been placed on 'technology' itself (Clinic security breach, Apr 19), and the actions taken by staff working with the data. Lastly, as so many people state when bad things happen to them, the University is determined that nothing like this will ever happen again, saying,
"Western is taking steps to ensure nothing like this happens again. We will conduct a complete review of this incident, reiterating patient privacy protocols with all of our health care professionals and their staff, as well as determine what additional steps we can take to improve our existing protocols, designed to ensure each client’s privacy in our clinics" (University statement, Apr 18).
One other piece of information I'd like to add to all this is that there is another way of looking at this incident, if you recall the case of Kitty Genovese, who was murdered in NY in 1964. At least a dozen persons living in nearby buildings heard parts of the prolonged attack but didn't report it to the authorities. People saw it as an example of apathy, that no one in her community cared. Later, social psychologists gave it the name 'bystander effect' and 'diffusion of responsibility,' whereby all involved think that someone else will make the phone call or ensure the data is secure, or do whatever is needed.
It's not that members of the staff may not care, and indeed, in this situation it was children who were involved, making it less likely that someone had intended to do harm. Mistakes happen all the time. It's just not that often that the potential for harm is as great as it is in this event. And often, rules and ways the organization functions may seem to be working just fine, until this kind of situation happens.
A few days ago, I was driving out of town, intent on following a lead for a medical centre that was accepting new patients, as I am new to London and don't have a family doctor. I passed by a woman and her vehicle by the side of the road, and a dog lying in the middle of the road, not moving at all. I slowed down, as other drivers did, and then drove on. It wasn't that I didn't care. Numerous reasons flashed through my mind as to why I didn't stop, and couldn't stop. I felt guilty, as I felt the eyes of the one sole concerned human being on me. And she was still there, with a police car, on my return trip. I might just as well have stopped, for all the good that trip did me. Diffusion of responsibility. Bystander effect.
The point is, it's not technology to blame, or lack of competence of the staff, or one person's mistake or forgetfulness. It's just the way things are as an organization grows larger and more complex. Add into that the division of labour, and one employee may not know what the other one does or is supposed to do, and may think that someone else will do the particular task that wasn't getting done, this day, that led to this catastrophe.
Security breach of kids' info raises alarm
By Jennifer O'Brien
London Free Press
April 19, 2011
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/04/18/18032821.html
(http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2011/04/19/18038951.html: Clinic security breach raises alarm)
University statement regarding H.A. Leeper Speech and Hearing Clinic
By Communications Staff
Western News, UWO
April 18, 2011
http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/stories/2011/April/university_statement_regarding_ha_leeper_speech_and_hearing_clinic.html
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