The NDP is calling for “proper safeguards” to ensure the protection of the health information of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

MyHealthNL was launched earlier this month, allowing patients 16 and older access to various medical records including lab and x-ray results as well as information on prescriptions and known allergies.

The NDP’s Lela Evans says it’s important that patient privacy is protected as the province expands its digital and virtual health services.

She says government must learn from past failures, including recent security breaches and a cyber attack that virtually shut the health care system down for several days.

She says the British Medical Journal is now reporting that virtual healthcare companies in Canada are collecting large amounts of private healthcare information to “upsell a patient and increase their profits.”

She says government cannot wait for patients to be exploited and guardrails must be in place as digital services expand.

Evans suggests that data sovereignty legislation is needed to “set the standard” for how personal information is protected.