ICO reprimands NHS Lanarkshire for sharing patient data via WhatsApp

NHS Lanarkshire has been reprimanded by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for unauthorized use of WhatsApp to share patient data. Between 2020 and 2022, staff shared personal and clinical information in a WhatsApp group, including adding a non-staff member in error. The breach was self-reported by NHS Lanarkshire, who has been asked to improve compliance and review protocols in light of the incident, including potential use of a secure clinical image transfer system.