Canadian hospitals provided personal data to baby photogs for years

The photographers paid the medical centers for access to maternity wards and information.

Mount Sinai, North York General, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Humber River, Toronto East General and Rouge Valley Health System hospitals handed over the information of tens of thousands of new mothers.

The records sometimes included the patients’ name, age, length of hospital stay, attending physician, type of diet, reason for admission to hospital, type of delivery and baby’s birth date.

“We should have simply been providing the name and room number,” North York General spokeswoman Elizabeth McCarthy said.

The revelations came after a major breach at Rouge Valley Health System.

More than 5,000 patients at North York General alone may have been affected.

The hospitals independently reported the breaches to government officials in June and July, after internal reviews triggered by news that former employees at Rouge Valley had allegedly sold the personal information of 14,450 patients to registered education savings plans companies.

The maternity ward incidents all involve one business -- Just Arrived Baby Photography Inc., a company contracted by the hospitals to provide services to new mothers.

Todd Jaspar, the general manager of Just Arrived, described the breach as a “communication breakdown.”

He would not say how much the photography company paid the hospitals for access.

“Just Arrived had a working relationship with Heritage Education Funds, a company which sells RESP investments,” the Star reports. “Patients who purchased photos from Just Arrived had an option on the photo consent form to request to be contacted about RESPs.”

The six hospitals notified patients of the breach by posting a statement on their websites for 30 days.