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Ontario Privacy Commissioner Fines Windsor Doctor for Using Hospital Records to Solicit Circumcisions

The penalties are the first use of new administrative monetary powers by a Canadian privacy commissioner.

The Windsor Regional Hospital is shown in Windsor, Ont., Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The hospital says it has been forced to store bodies in a trailer unit amid a surge in deaths due to COVID-19, at least the second to do so in recent weeks.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Rob Gurdebeke
Windsor pediatrician Dr. Omar Afandi lost his Windsor Regional Hospital privileges last year after the privacy breach was uncovered. Ontario’s privacy watchdog found that he was accessing private patient data using the electronic health record system shared by several southwestern Ontario hospitals.
WINDSOR, ONT: SEPTEMBER 3, 2025 -- Dr. Omar Afandi, who remains listed as a medical team member at WE Kidz Pediatrics in Windsor, has been fined $5,000 for wrongfully accessing the health records of newborn boys. The private Windsor clinic also faces a $7,500 fine following an investigation by Ontario's privacy watchdog.
WE Kidz Pediatrics, a private clinic in Windsor, provides a range of services, including newborn care.

Overview

  • Commissioner Patricia Kosseim found Dr. Omar Afandi used his Windsor Regional Hospital EHR access to identify parents of newborn boys and solicit circumcisions at WE Kidz Pediatrics, a clinic he partly owns.
  • Afandi was ordered to pay a $5,000 penalty under Ontario’s personal health information law, and WE Kidz was fined $7,500 for operating without a privacy management program.
  • The investigation logged 146 searches that could have exposed information on up to 831 patients; Afandi says he texted 17 people, called up to 74, and performed one procedure as a result.
  • Kosseim characterized the decision as a cautionary tale for health startups and emphasized deterring the use of patient data for financial gain.
  • The hospital was not found in breach and had strong practices outlined, and it previously said it revoked Afandi’s privileges and notified the commissioner; WE Kidz says it is strengthening its privacy policies.