Scottish NHS trust ducks fine after staff shared patient data via WhatsApp

NHS Lanarkshire has been reprimanded by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after 26 staff members shared patient data, including clinical information, over WhatsApp on over 500 occasions. WhatsApp was not approved by the trust for this use, and one unauthorised individual was inadvertently added to the group. The ICO found the trust lacked appropriate policies relating to WhatsApp’s use and will follow up to ensure patient data is not compromised again.