Addictions counsellor checked to see if ex-boyfriend had drug counselling appointment
A five-day unpaid suspension to a Saskatchewan health-care worker for violating client privacy was too harsh since the worker was trying to protect her family, the Saskatchewan Arbitration Board has ruled.
Leanne McLaughlin was an addictions counsellor for the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR). McLaughlin was trained on the RQHR’s confidentiality of information policy, which prohibited disclosure of personal health information of clients outside those who are involved in the client’s care. The only exception was if there was an authorized health purpose for the disclosure. McLaughlin also signed a confidentiality agreement that stated she understood the policy and any breach of it would result in disciplinary action.
On Aug. 20, 2007, McLaughlin called the main office of Addictions Services and asked the counsellor on duty if a particular individual had an appointment. The counsellor assumed the individual was a client at McLaughlin’s clinic and told her there was no booking.
The counsellor then told McLaughlin the individual was a client at another branch and would check for other appointments. However, the next day the counsellor recalled McLaughlin had been in a relationship with the individual in question and, concerned about McLaughlin’s prying, informed the addiction services manager.
McLaughlin told her supervisor the individual was her ex-partner and she needed to know if he had made an appointment for addiction counselling. The manager determined McLaughlin had breached the RQHR’s confidentiality policy and suspended her for five days without pay. The counsellor who responded to McLaughlin’s request wasn’t disciplined because she had initially thought it was work-related.
McLaughlin grieved the suspension because of extenuating circumstances. As it turned out, her ex-partner had been charged with uttering death threats against her and had threatened to take their son, who McLaughlin had custody of. The ex-partner was an addict and abused McLaughlin until she left him and took their son. Ever since, he had been obsessed with the idea he wouldn’t be able to see his son.
The day of her inquiry, McLaughlin had been told her ex-partner was coming to Regina for addiction counselling. Skeptical that he was dealing with his addictions and fearful for her son, she called Addictions Services to find out if he actually had an appointment so she could leave the area with her son for the day. She said that at the time she was stressed and only thinking of her son and nothing else. She admitted in retrospect the call was inappropriate.
The board accepted McLaughlin was faced with a “unique and urgent situation” and the RQHR should have shown some understanding. In addition, she acknowledged she violated the confidentiality policy and vowed not to do it again.
“In the panic of the moment, the RQHR’s confidentiality policy was the least of her worries,” said the board. “Justice and equity lean in favour of taking her state of mind into account as a significant extenuating circumstance.”
The board ordered the RQHR to expunge McLaughlin’s five-day suspension, compensate her for lost pay and give her a letter of reprimand instead. See Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region v. Health Sciences Assn. of Saskatchewan, 2009 CarswellSask 630 (Sask. Arb. Bd.).
