Pharmacist Warned for Repeated Data Breach of Ex-Husband’s Medical Records

Allegations

In this case, the registrant, a practising pharmacist, came under scrutiny after it was discovered that she had inappropriately accessed sensitive medical records without valid clinical justification. Specifically, she accessed the medical records of her ex-husband on at least five occasions and those of her family members, relying solely on their verbal consent. These actions were found to contravene both NHS information governance policies and the principles enshrined in the Data Protection Act 2018.

The inappropriate access to her ex-husband’s records was not isolated. The registrant accessed his medical data multiple times over more than a year—specifically on 08 July 2022 and 08 October 2023—without any professional need to do so. Furthermore, while accessing family members’ data with their verbal consent may seem less egregious, it still breached strict NHS and employer protocols around written consent and proper clinical justification.