personal | BFG

March 11, 2024admin

Vernon RCMP recover Interior Health records with personal information on thousands of employees – Vernon News

Photo: IH

Interior Health is trying to track down employees whose personal information may have been compromised.

Officials are asking anyone who worked for IH from 2003 to 2009 to call 1-833-705-2569 toll free to determine if any of their personal information is contained in a document recovered in an RCMP investigation.

In January, Vernon North Okanagan RCMP informed IH about a document that was discovered during an investigation containing personal information of individuals, including current and former employees of IH.

The information seized by police included names, dates of birth, social insurance numbers, home addresses, phone numbers and the individuals’ age in 2009.

Brent Kruschel, IH Vice-president of Digital Health, said IH is working closely with RCMP and conducting an internal investigation into the matter as well.

Kruschel said one of the biggest challenges IH is having is the stolen information dates back 15 years.

“We can’t determine the source of the information,” Kruschel said. “We don’t know how they came into possession of the information.”

Kruschel said that does not mean there is a gap in the security system, but because security technology is constantly evolving, it is more difficult to track down the exact source from so long ago.

Kruschel assured that IH has “state-of-the-art online security” technology that is continually updated to ensure the safety of staff and employee.

IH will continue to look into the matter.

The recovered document has more than 20,000 names on it.

Kruschel said no patient information was found on the documents.

IH confirmed there are approximately 7,000 current employees listed and are taking steps to notify them. Due to the age of the data and its broad scope, IH is not able to accurately confirm the former employee information, nor where the information came from.

“Interior Health’s top priority is

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Health Advice

February 1, 2024admin

“Loneliness is not a personal failing”: Dartmouth Health psychologist offers advice for forging connection, feeling better | News & Stories

In this coldest time of year, northern New Englanders tend to spend more time indoors and turn in early—and that can be a little lonely. The COVID-19 pandemic also forced all of us to spend more time in isolation, with many of us still getting less human interaction than we used to as a lot of office jobs shifted to a work-from-home model.

Alone time can be relaxing and energizing, but too much can have negative impacts. Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, issued a public health advisory about the dangers of loneliness, saying it impacts half of all American adults.

“If you are among those suffering, the antidote to your loneliness could be closer and more accessible than you think,” said Andrew J. Smith, PhD, a psychologist at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, who recently co-authored a study on how social connectedness can help improve health. “No doubt, loneliness can have far-reaching effects on a person’s life. But loneliness is not a personal failing. Loneliness is an emotional signal that tells you to go find someone to talk to, engage in your community, and serve others—even if you think it will be hard.”

Studies show myriad impacts of prolonged loneliness and social isolation on our health, leading to increased risk for cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction, insomnia, stroke, dementia, depression, anxiety, and even earlier death. Loneliness can not only impact your emotional wellbeing, it can make you feel worse about yourself and your perceived prospects for a meaningful life.

If you feel you are suffering from loneliness, ask yourself some questions:

Are you having trouble in your relationship with loved ones?
Do you feel disconnected from the wider world?
Are you avoiding friends?
Do you feel “less than” others?
Are you afraid of feeling judged or

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Health Advice

November 25, 2023admin

How to Find Your Personal Style, Once and For All

For years, I felt like I never had anything to wear. Every time I went shopping, I came home convinced, thinking to myself, “This is it. This is the piece of clothing that will make my wardrobe complete and cohesive and show I’ve mastered my personal style.”

But the truth was, no single shirt, pair of shorts, or skirt could magically solve my problems—and that’s because my wardrobe was all over the place. Sure, I loved variety, and we all do. But from my lime green sweater to my flowy lace maxi skirt to my bedazzled denim shorts, there was too much variety. Finding my own personal style took a lot of trial and error—mostly errors—and years to figure out what I actually liked. Now that I’m on the other side though, I can confidently say: I have a closet full of clothes that match and that I actually love.

You, too, can find your own personal style—just try these 10 insider tips to mastering it.

1. Spend a day looking at clothes—but don’t buy anything yet

Hear us out: While a day shopping is always fun, it isn’t always productive to finding your style. There are crowds and long lines for dressing rooms, and sometimes the chaos can make you pick up things you don’t actually love.

Instead, spend a day looking at clothes, not buying clothes. Set a day aside and commit yourself to not swiping your credit card, but instead spending a no-pressure day getting a better grasp of what you like. Make a list of what you felt best in, then go home, think on it, and strategize what pieces you want to actually add to your closet.

2. Use Pinterest as a mood board

A tool that shouldn’t go underutilized in finding your personal style?

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Health Information

November 10, 2023admin

New app helps patients explore health services, access personal information

This section is

by West Brant Window World

Published Oct 31, 2023 • Last updated Oct 31, 2023 • 2 minute read

Photo by File photo /Postmedia

A new app is available that lets local patients and caregivers explore health services and access their personal health information.

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The Brantford Brant Norfolk Health Navigator app is free and available in Apple and Google Play stores.

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“This app was designed to help patients and caregivers in Brantford, Brant and Norfolk explore local and provincial health services and more seamlessly access their personal health information in one convenient location,” said a news release issued by the Brantford Brant Norfolk Ontario Health Team.

The navigator allows users to search for health services by categories – immediate crisis support; primary care; hospitals/urgent care; mental health and addictions; housing and outreach; home and community resources; older adult services; caregiver resources; and public health and provincial resources.

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Users can further narrow their search and link directly to provider websites for more information.

By clicking “Free Health Advice” in the app, users are taken to the provincial resource, Health811 (formerly Telehealth) where they can receive free health advice or information from professionals around the clock.

Users can also access their personal health information on the app through tools including LifeLabs, SeamlessMD and ConnectMyHealth.

Through ConnectMyHealth, patients can see their health records from participating hospitals in southwestern Ontario, including Brantford

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Health Information

November 4, 2023admin

New app helps patients explore health services, access personal information

Published Oct 31, 2023 • Last updated 3 days ago • 2 minute read

Photo by File photo /Postmedia

A new app is available that lets local patients and caregivers explore health services and access their personal health information.

Advertisement 2

Article content

The Brantford Brant Norfolk Health Navigator app is free and available in Apple and Google Play stores.

Article content

Advertisement 3

Article content

Users can further narrow their search and link directly to provider websites for more information.

Users can also access their personal health information on the app through tools including LifeLabs, SeamlessMD and ConnectMyHealth.

Through ConnectMyHealth, patients can see their health records from participating hospitals in southwestern Ontario, including Brantford General Hospital and Norfolk General Hospital.

The Brantford Brant Norfolk Ontario Health Team welcomes feedback and suggestions on how it can improve the app. Input can be given by clicking “learn more” in the app or

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Health Information

August 13, 2023admin

Cyberattack on B.C. health employer websites may have taken personal information

A cyberattack on three websites hosted by the Health Employers Association of British Columbia may have seized the personal information of thousands of people working or applying to work in B.C.’s public health care sector.

Michael McMillian, CEO of the association, said stolen information could include social insurance numbers, home addresses, passport and driver’s licence details, along with other personal information. He said 240,000 email addresses alone were possibly taken.

The cyberattack targeted three websites recruiting physicians, nurses and other health professionals: Health Match B.C., Locums for Rural B.C. and the B.C. Care Aide & Community Health Worker Registry.

B.C. has been on a major recruitment drive to attract desperately needed health-care workers to the province.

One of the compromised sites was used to recruit physicians, registered nurses and other health professionals on behalf of health employers. The others helped with vacation coverage for rural doctors and registered care aides working in places including long-term care facilities.

“I sincerely regret this event happened and I want to reassure everyone that we are working with cybersecurity and privacy experts to address the incident,” said McMillian.

“We know that not all of the information in the potentially affected databases was taken, however, at this time we are not able to conclusively determine which information was involved,” he said.

Individual health records have not been affected and the breach is not associated with a ransomware attack, according to McMillian. For now, anyone wanting to register for the programs won’t be able to do so online but can contact the programs directly, he added.

In the aftermath of the cyberatttack, a message on the BCHEA website says the affected websites are down for maintenance. (BCHEA)

The CEO said the association will reach out to everyone whose information may have been compromised over the next

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Health Information

April 25, 2023admin

Retaining, disposing and protecting patients’ personal health information – MLT Aikins

According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, data breach reports increased six-fold in the past year. To date, more than 28 million Canadians have been affected by a data breach. The pharmaceutical profession is not immune to this growing problem, threatening patients’ trust in the health care system and exposing pharmacies to penalties and legal sanction. This article provides an overview of pharmacies’ legal obligations in retaining, disposing and protecting an individual’s personal health information and the steps that must be taken in the event of a data breach.

The legal obligations of pharmacies and pharmacists are governed in part by the following. The Personal Health Information Act (Manitoba) (“PHIA”) regulates how pharmacies must handle the personal health information of their patients, including its collection, use, disclosure, retention and destruction. The College of Pharmacists of Manitoba (the “College”) provides pharmacies additional and supplemental policies and practice directives that reflect the requirements of PHIA. The Pharmaceutical Act (Manitoba) (the “TPA”) governs the requirements that pharmacies must adhere to with respect to the confidentiality of its patients.

Personal health information is (a) recorded in any form, including electronically or in writing; (b) can be linked to an identifiable person; and (c) relates to that person’s health, health history, genetic makeup, health care, payment for health care, or personal health identifying information collected in the course of providing health care.

Pharmacies and pharmacists, along with their employees, are designated by PHIA as trustees. As trustee, pharmacies are obligated to protect the privacy of their patients when handling their personal health information. A trustee may retain an information manager, provided the parties enter into a written agreement, to ensure personal health information is adequately protected.

Personal health information must be retained for at least five years in

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Health Care

March 23, 2023admin

Do personal, for-revenue clinics help save taxpayers revenue and minimize hold out occasions? The facts suggests no

You can find a ton of communicate these times about an improved part for personal wellness-care clinics in Canada, sparked in aspect by Leading Doug Ford’s options to drastically increase the quantity of Ontario surgical procedures done in for-income clinics.

Inspite of guarantees from Ford and some others that it will streamline products and services and solve the issue of extensive wait instances, wellness-treatment specialists that CBC News interviewed say there are nuances and that this kind of delighted outcomes are not borne out by the details.

In fact, information from B.C. and from other international locations suggests personal, for-financial gain surgical procedure clinics will very likely enhance the true value to taxpayers and could worsen hold out situations in Ontario hospitals.

What does a ‘private system’ even suggest?

To get started, it really is vital to have an understanding of that every single health practitioner is a non-public contractor. They invoice for their expert services. And that figure — together with nursing personnel, overhead and other fees — variables into the final invoice.

“Privatization is these a wide expression that it is fundamentally ineffective,” in accordance to Dr. Melanie Bechard, a pediatrician at CHEO in Ottawa and president of Canadian Health professionals for Medicare.

“I truthfully would not know how to deal with issues about privatization without having very first asking if you signify funding or supply.”

The difference in this article is personal, for-revenue care, which means clinics that are usually owned by firms who concentrate on bottom line earnings.

Dr. Melanie Bechard is a pediatrician at CHEO in Ottawa and president of Canadian Doctors for Medicare. — ‘Privatization is such a wide expression that it’s generally useless,’ in accordance to Dr. Melanie Bechard, a pediatrician at CHEO in Ottawa and president of Canadian Medical doctors for Medicare. (Christian Fleury)

Do private procedures value considerably less?

For case in point, information attained from the Canadian Institute

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Tag: personal

1. Spend a day looking at clothes—but don’t buy anything yet

2. Use Pinterest as a mood board

Article content

Article content

What does a ‘private system’ even suggest?

Do private procedures value considerably less?