Health information sent to wrong address...

A health agency accepted it breached a patient’s privacy by sending her health information to an incorrect address. It had the correct street but used the wrong number despite having the correct address on file. 

The patient sought compensation for the breach and the agency agreed to make a payment, but they could not initially agree on the amount. 

The patient claimed she was significantly impacted by the breach, but the agency did not accept that was the case as the information released was fairly generic. 

However, the patient provided evidence from a psychiatrist as to the impact on her due to her prior medical history. At a reconciliation meeting the agency agreed that it had caused significant distress and more than doubled its compensation offer and apologised and the matter was resolved.

The Privacy Commissioner commented that had the agency taken account of the patient’s individual circumstances it could have appreciated the harm caused earlier rather than aggravating the situation by not accepting the patient’s evidence of harm from her psychiatrist.  

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