An investigation has discovered that a former Alberta Health Services (AHS) employee inappropriately accessed thousands of health records.

The inappropriate access took place from January 2004 to July 2015, and affects 1,309 Albertans, who will all be receiving notifications of the incident.

"We understand that this information will be concerning to Albertans, and it is to us as well. Be assured: privacy is as important to us as it is to you," says Dr. Belanger. "We thank the vast majority of our employees who uphold patient privacy daily, while delivering high quality and compassionate care."

It has been determined that none of the records involved have been compromised or altered, and that they were not shared or printed. AHS says that the access occurred on a "personal curiosity" basis.

Belanger adds that measures are in place to prevent such incidents from occurring in places like Airdrie's Community Health Center.

"At the local level, your manager in urgent care for example, would review our policies and the best practices with her staff in terms of privacy management." he said.

AHS has a call-in line established through health link to provide information for those impacted by this breach.

Direct-mailed letters have been sent to all those affected as of Monday, September 26th.