More on the South Miami Hospital insider breach: Myriam Masihy of NBC6 reports that
Pictures taken in February and March of 2012 show Alci Bonannee and Chante Mozley, two convicted identity thieves, withdrawing cash from several banks in Broward County.
The federal government says the money came from stolen tax refunds that belonged to people like Miami resident Joseph Szot.
“When I filed a return, the accountant told me you can’t file because somebody filed already,” Szot said.
And just how did Bonannee and Mozley get Szot’s tax refund? Federal authorities said it happened while he was a patient at South Miami Hospital.
The pair is accused of paying respiratory therapist Betty Cole for patients’ personal information including their social security number.
So it seems that this breach did result in misuse of patient information. Although the hospital sent me a copy of the statement they issued on March 1, they would not answer questions I had sent them as to how they learned of the breach (did federal investigators alert them or did they discover it on their own?), and how many patients are thought or known to have become victims of tax refund fraud as a result of this breach. A hospital spokesperson stated, “… Baptist Health South Florida has responded to the breach as promptly as possible given the ongoing criminal investigation; however, we cannot provide further details because the federal investigation is ongoing.”
The hospital’s statement of March 1:
Baptist Health says its privacy office has recently learned that a South Miami Hospital employee inappropriately accessed 834 patient records.
According to the hospital, the records, dated from June 2011 through February 2012, included patient names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers.
The breach came to light during a collaborative investigation with federal law enforcement officials.
The hospital said the investigation showed that the employee disclosed information to individuals involved in filing fraudulent tax returns.
The South Miami Hospital employee has been terminated, and efforts are underway to prosecute the individual to the fullest extent possible, said the hospital.
For those that would like to contact the hospital, Baptist Health has set up a dedicated hotline for patients affected by the breach. Patients may call 1-866-33-HIPAA (44722) or email [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>.