Alberta Health Services says 48 employees inappropriately accessed a patient’s information and will now face disciplinary action.

AHS CEO and President Vickie Kaminski released a statement on Wednesday saying that all its employees are accountable for patient privacy and any breach of that privacy will be taken very seriously.

“Recently, 48 employees at South Health Campus and across the Calgary Zone were found to have inappropriately accessed a patient’s information,” said Kaminski. “Privacy is enforced, across the organization. User activity in AHS electronic systems is recorded and routinely audited. Suspicious activity or accesses to information are flagged for further investigation. If an investigation confirms that access to information was inappropriate, all involved individuals will face discipline.

Kaminski says the AHS makes it clear to employees that inappropriate access of patient information is a violation of trust, breach of professional ethics and illegal under the Health Information Act.

“This situation underscores the very real consequences of patient privacy breaches,” she said in the statement. “Our message is simple: AHS will not tolerate breaches of privacy, and there are consequences for any such action.”

The statement says the breach will be reported to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner as well as to the appropriate regulatory bodies.

AHS officials say the workers are now facing disciplinary action including, suspensions without pay ranging from two to five days and one termination.