DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Privacy breach at Northern Inyo Hospital could result in criminal charges

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Dissent

From today’s Inyo Register in Bishop, California:

Local law enforcement has opened an investigation into the theft of medical records from Northern Inyo Hospital in a case that has shaken community members and NIH itself.

This past summer, hospital officials noticed that an employee in the records department had illegally obtained and was in possession of a patient’s medical file. Hospital Administrator John Halfen said Thursday that the employee was fired within hours of the discovery, but the ramifications of the theft are far-reaching.

Kudos to the hospital for promptly firing the employee upon discovery of the breach.

The patient’s response may seem a bit extreme. According to the paper, the patient testified that the breach has shaken her confidence in the healthcare system “and she may have to move out of the community.”

I’ve occasionally read surveys where patients have indicated that they might move as a result of a breach, and that really seems extreme. Unless you have a really stigmatizing medical or psychiatric condition and you’re worried about social or employment consequences, would you move  because of a breach – particularly when you see that a hospital detected the breach on its own and responded to it forcefully and immediately?

Perhaps when you are living in a small area (Bishop has a population of less than 4,000) with only one small hospital in your area, such breaches become more impactful.

That said, there’s no healthcare system that is totally immune to corrupt employees or insider breaches, and patients that move may find themselves dealing with a similar problem in their new location.

The paper says they’ll have more on this breach in tomorrow’s edition, so maybe something more will come out that may explain the patient’s reaction.

No related posts.

Category: Health Data

Post navigation

← Ouidad notifies customers after customer data viewed or obtained
Executive Accounting Services notifies clients of security breach involving their personal and banking information →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Multiple lawsuits filed against Doyon Ltd over April 2024 data breach and late notification
  • Chinese hackers suspected in breach of powerful DC law firm
  • Qilin Emerged as The Most Active Group, Exploiting Unpatched Fortinet Vulnerabilities
  • CISA tags Citrix Bleed 2 as exploited, gives agencies a day to patch
  • McDonald’s McHire leak involving ‘123456’ admin password exposes 64 million applicant chat records
  • Qilin claims attack on Accu Reference Medical Laboratory. It wasn’t the lab’s first data breach.
  • Louis Vuitton hit by data breach in Türkiye, over 140,000 users exposed; UK customers also affected (1)
  • Infosys McCamish Systems Enters Consent Order with Vermont DFR Over Cyber Incident
  • Obligations under Canada’s data breach notification law
  • German court offers EUR 5000 compensation for data breaches caused by Meta

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Trump Border Czar Boasts ICE Can ‘Briefly Detain’ People Based On ‘Physical Appearance’
  • DeleteMyInfo Wins 2025 Digital Privacy Excellence Award from Internet Safety Council
  • TikTok Loses First Appeal Against £12.7M ICO Fine, Faces Second Investigation by DPC
  • German court offers EUR 5000 compensation for data breaches caused by Meta
  • How to Build on Washington’s “My Health, My Data” Act
  • Department of Justice Subpoenas Doctors and Clinics Involved in Performing Transgender Medical Procedures on Children
  • Google Settles Privacy Class Action Over Period Tracking App

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.