An emergency room doctor from St. Albert admitted Thursday to violating professional standards by repeatedly accessing the electronic medical records of three people who were not her patients.
Dr. Deanne “Dee” Gayle Watrich admitted to unprofessional conduct at a College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta hearing tribunal in Edmonton.
“She genuinely regrets what she has done and is extremely disappointed in her actions,” said her lawyer Taryn Burnett.
An investigation by the college found that Watrich, an emergency physician at the Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton, accessed the medical files of three individuals a total of 21 times from August 2009 to October 2010.
She used workstations that 12 other physicians had previously logged into, so her credentials were not linked to the viewings.
“I’m deeply disappointed in myself, humiliated, embarrassed – it’s beyond words,” Watrich said, wiping tears from her eyes. “This is not something that is characteristic of me in any way.”
She told the tribunal said she didn’t know why she logged into the complainants’ Alberta Netcare profiles, adding she never added or altered the records and never shared information with anyone.
The tribunal consists of two physician members and one public member and is tasked with determining the penalties a guilty physician will face. Penalties can include a suspension, monetary fine or restriction of a physician’s practice.
Penalties were not determined at the hearing and will instead be provided in writing to the college at a later date. This decision is expected to be posted online, said spokesperson Kelly Eby.
“Patient confidentiality is one of the fundamental principles in medicine,” said Craig Boyer, lawyer for the college. “Not only was there inappropriate access, there was attempt to deceive.”
Boyer said he would like to see Watrich handed a two-month suspension and be ordered to pay the fees associated with the investigation.
“This is a serious case and should have a serious consequence,” he said.
Burnett said she does not feel a suspension is warranted and said her client has already paid restitution through a civil lawsuit, where she paid a “significant” amount to the three complainants. No details of the lawsuit were available.
The college was first notified of the breach by Convenant Health, the province’s Catholic health-care provider, in writing in June 2011.
At that time, an investigation was being conducted by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, which detailed a breach in the use of Alberta Netcare in a Covenant Health hospital.
The report from that investigation, dated Oct. 30, 2011, states the commissioner received a complaint from a man after he requested an Alberta Netcare audit log that showed nine physicians – none of whom were his medical provider – had accessed his health records.
The man’s mother and partner were also listed as complainants and had their files accessed by three additional physicians.
The man indicated to the commissioner that he had reason to believe a specific nurse and physician were responsible for the breaches. The nurse he named was an ex-spouse, with whom he was undergoing divorce proceedings, and the physician was the nurse’s current partner.
“I think it was just the only thing I felt I had some kind of power over. I know that’s wrong and it’s a terribly wrong use of that power,” said the physician, apparently Watrich, in the report.
Watrich has been at the Misericordia Hospital, a Covenant Health hospital, since 2005.
“I don’t know why I logged in to their Netcare and why I did it so many times,” Watrich said at the hearing. “It didn’t actually give me any power. It didn’t give me anything.”
Following the commissioner’s investigation, Watrich received a letter of reprimand from Covenant Health that will remain on her record permanently.
She also had to come clean to her co-workers.
“Deanne always was and still is one of the most respected members of our group,” said Dr. Gordon Mazurek, emergency room physician at the Misericordia. The two have worked together since 2005.
Following the commissioner’s report, Watrich took a two-day ethics and professionalism course offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.
Every complaint filed with the college is reviewed by the complaints director before being dismissed, investigated or resolved.
The college received 780 complaints in 2011, which was down 10 per cent from 687 in 2010.
Hearing tribunals are relatively rare, with less than two per cent of all complaints resulting in a hearing, says the college’s website.
