ACC wants file destroyed after privacy blunder

An article from the Otago Daily Times by Amelia Romanos

A sexual abuse victim who was one of thousands of ACC clients to have details released in a privacy breach has been asked by the organisation to destroy information relating to other claims sent to him in error. The man had requested information about his case and was sent an 11-page spreadsheet detailing the more than 250 times ACC staff had accessed his file.
The organisation later requested that he delete the file after finding that 60 of the incidents listed did not relate to his case. While no personal details were revealed in the document, the man said he was disturbed that ACC was still making blunders with other people's information.
"It just shows you they haven't bothered to make it better after last time. They just don't care," he told APNZ.
"You can't know what they are sending out."
The man, who suffered permanent brain damage as a baby, and was sexually and physically assaulted when he was 13, has been in a long-running battle with ACC over the severity of his condition.
Following recent revelations that National Party insider Bronwyn Pullar was accidentally sent sensitive information about thousands of ACC claimants, the man requested ACC send him a list of all the people who had accessed his file, and was emailed a spreadsheet last week. During a subsequent check of the information, ACC discovered that some information was incorrect, and in an email requested that the man destroy the file.
"Upon your confirmation that all emails and files have been destroyed (both electronic and hard copy) I will send you the correct information," the case manager wrote.
In a later letter, ACC sought to reassure him that there had been no breach of privacy but confirmed that some information did not relate to his claim. It said the mistake had occurred when a staff member input an incorrect claim number.
A number of investigations have been launched into how Ms Pullar was sent the details of 6700 claimants, including 250 with sensitive claims relating to sexual abuse, last August. ACC last month contacted the clients affected by that error, assuring them that it understood that "mistakes must be avoided" and that it would continue to improve its processes.
However, the man said he had doubts about how sincere ACC's efforts to fix the problem were, with this latest mistake coming less than a month after those affected by the earlier breach were notified. Although the man said he could not tell who the information related to, he questioned how much care was being taken with people's information.
"I have no trust in them at all and worry about what else has been leaked," he said. "It also concerns me greatly the amount of people who have accessed my claims file."
ACC would not comment on the case, saying that it was in the process of an independent investigation.
"When the independent review has been completed its findings will be made public," it said in a statement.

© Allied Press Ltd 2012

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/205339/acc-wants-file-destroyed-after-privacy-blunder