REGINA - Public sector organizations in Saskatchewan are being urged to be careful when disposing of used office equipment after patient records were discovered in an old fax machine.
The office of Saskatchewan's privacy commissioner says it received a roll of fax machine thermal film last month that contained health data on more than 100 patients covering a period from July to September 2003.
It appears the machine was sold to someone in Prince Albert, Sask., in late 2004 through a public auction by a health information trustee.
Privacy commissioner Gary Dickson says departments and agencies must ensure that old photocopiers, scanners and fax machines are purged of any sensitive information before they're sold or returned at the end of a lease.
Dickson says buyers should also find out from manufacturers whether the equipment can be cleaned of data and how that's done.
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Article online since May 5th 2008, 0:00
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