The Toronto Star reports that a doctor at the Hospital for Sick Children lost an external hard drive containing data on 3,300 patients just weeks after the Ontario Privacy Commissioner warned against removing electronic health records from the hospital.
Sick Kids Doctor Loses Data on 3,300 Patients
September 3, 2007
Share this post
2 Comments

Law Bytes
Episode 271: Taking Stock of a Wild Week in Canadian Digital Policy With the Online Streaming Reversal, AI Strategy Release, and Lawful Access Review
byMichael Geist

May 25, 2026
Michael Geist
May 11, 2026
Michael Geist
May 4, 2026
Michael Geist
Search Results placeholder
Michael Geist on Substack
Recent Posts
Privacy as a Fundamental Right? The Government’s Terrible Privacy Track Record Suggests Virtue Signalling Over a Genuine Commitment
Taking Stock of Bill C-34: Five Things to Know About the Government’s Plan for a Kids’ Social Media Ban, Mandated Age Verification, and AI Chatbot Rules
The Exemption Illusion: Why the Government’s Plan to Fast Track Bill C-34’s Kids’ Social Media Ban Means No Standards, No Privacy Review, and No Enforcement
Unpacking Bill C-34: My Appearance on the Globe and Mail’s The Decibel Podcast
Liberal MP: Lawful Access “Has Nothing to Do With the Privacy of People and Their Information”

VPN
“The physician, who was travelling to a medical conference, packed the external hard drive so he could work while away. ”
Maybe they should learn how to VPN into the Sick Kids network instead– That would mean the data stays inside Sick Kids and is encrypted while the doctor works elsewhere…
Oh my …
doesn’t Sick Kids have policy about data security so that doctors / researchers aren’t encouraged or supported in this type of activity?
Someone in IT management should be scrambling to fix that hole …