Saskatoon microbiologist’s identification of reported COVID-19 patient 'unethical,' College of Medicine dean says

SASKATOON -

The dean of the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine says it was wrong for a member of the college to publicly identify a person reportedly in hospital being treated for COVID-19.

“I am aggrieved that any member of the College of Medicine would share private information about a patient receiving care in our healthcare system,” Preston Smith said in a Twitter post.

“This behavior is well below the level of integrity, professionalism and judgement I expect of every member — faculty, staff and learners — of our college.”

On Wednesday, Kyle Anderson, an assistant professor in biochemistry, appeared to share health information related to a person that has been vocal in his opposition to COVID-19 health measures.

In an emailed statement to CTV News, Smith said it is unethical for anyone to share private information about a patient receiving care without that person’s permission.

“For physicians and others directly related in care, there is an even higher standard of conduct expected. As dean of the College of Medicine, I hope that all members of our team would meet that ethical standard, and I shared that message by email to everyone in the college this morning, and on Twitter.”

He said the college and university are reviewing the matter and will work within the requirements of university policies and collective bargaining agreements as appropriate.

Anderson posted a statement on Twitter late Thursday in order to "correct erroneous information and assumptions circulating online."

"At no time was any diagnosis or condition divulged to me by SHA staff by phone or otherwise," he said.

In a later post, Anderson said sharing the information without permission was "an egregious error in judgement and I regret it."

He apologized to the person and said he was taking a step back from social media "to focus on the data."