Health professionals have been caught snooping into former mayor Rob Ford’s medical records in four separate privacy breaches in at least three Toronto hospitals, the Star has learned.

Last Wednesday, the University Health Network (UHN) notified the provincial privacy commissioner of a fourth breach of Ford’s medical records since his shocking cancer diagnosis last September.

Acting privacy commissioner Brian Beamish said in a written statement that the latest privacy violation was “extremely troubling” because it meant the earlier breaches had clearly not acted as a deterrent to nosy employees.

High-profile individuals could be “particularly attractive targets to snoopers,” Beamish said, adding that last week’s breach must motivate hospitals to be even more vigilant on privacy.

The fourth breach of Ford’s records highlights the importance of upgrading Ontario’s health privacy laws to include mandatory reporting of serious breaches to the privacy commissioner.

A recent Star investigation found the majority of health-related breaches go unreported to the privacy office, sparking calls for legislative change by Beamish.

Ontario used to be at the forefront of health privacy laws, but now it is one of the last jurisdictions in the country to amend its legislation to include mandatory reporting to the privacy commissioner.

Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long Term Care, did not respond to questions from the Star Wednesday about whether he would consider changing health privacy laws to include mandatory reporting.

The privacy commissioner was notified of each of the four breaches of Ford’s medical records, but under current law hospitals can handle privacy violations behind closed doors — and even fire staff — without informing the regulatory body. Eight jurisdictions have recently amended their health privacy laws to fix this problem, which has been described as a dangerous oversight in the legislation.

Ford’s personal health information was first inappropriately accessed at Humber River Regional Hospital, where his cancerous tumour was found. His file was then opened without authorization at Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was transferred for chemotherapy.

The Star can now confirm Ford’s medical file was also snooped into by UHN hospital staff last September — and his records were targeted again by seven UHN staff at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre last week.

“This is a very disappointing development in light of the other health information privacy breaches that have occurred over the last year, which should have also served as a cautionary tale,” Beamish said.

The Star has recently uncovered a number of health-related privacy breaches, including an anti-abortion activist who inappropriately accessed more than 400 abortion files at Peterborough Regional Hospital.

Earlier last year, the Star also unveiled two major hospital privacy breach cases involving thousands of patients. In one case, hospitals inappropriately provided patient information to baby photographers. In another, hospitals were handing out patient contact information to private marketing companies.

In a written statement Wednesday, Hoskins said patients deserve to know their care providers were meeting privacy obligations.

“This is fundamental to maintaining patients’ trust in our health-care system,” he said.

Hoskins asked the ministry to follow up with the UHN after being notified of the latest Ford privacy breach.

The UHN, which is responsible for four major hospitals in Toronto, reported 132 privacy violations last year, according to information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

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UHN spokesperson Gillian Howard would not disclose which records were inappropriately accessed during last week’s privacy breach, because, she said, information about individual patients is never released.

She would not tell the Star what roles the snooping staff members hold at the hospital, because, she said, UHN does not release information that could identify employees in disciplinary matters.

UHN picked up on the privacy beach in an audit and it began investigating the matter in late January, Howard said.

“The preliminary investigation indicated that there had been seven individuals who had accessed the records,” she said.

“The investigation is under way and discipline will be dependent on the results of the investigation.”

Howard would not respond to questions about the previous breach of Ford’s medical records by UHN staff, which occurred last September.

However, Beamish said he has been informed of UHN staff accessing Ford’s file without authorization before.

The privacy commission has two open files on a breach from September that involved Ford’s personal health information and UHN staff, a spokesperson from the privacy commissioner’s office told the Star Wednesday.

It is unknown which UHN hospital was involved in the previous breach.

Ford pulled out of the Toronto mayoral race last September after he was diagnosed with pleomorphic liposarcoma, a rare type of cancer.

He has been undergoing radiation treatment since mid-January.