DataBreaches.Net

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

Lowell General Hospital notifies patients after firing rogue employee who accessed files improperly

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Dissent

Ah, I feel like I’ve been transported back in time, when it was always so hard to find a notification of a breach on an entity’s web site.

I went searching for information on a breach Lowell General Hospital in Massachusetts reported to HHS as affecting 769 patients. I was looking for media contact information, when I saw a tiny little message at the bottom of their home page (you have to scroll down and down to find it): “A Message to Our Patients Regarding Privacy Concerns.”

The link has no date on it, and clicking on the link takes you to an undated notice, which may be the explanation for the report to HHS:

A Message to Our Patients Regarding Privacy Concerns

Lowell General Hospital is committed to assuring the privacy of our patients’ health and personal information. Lowell General Hospital recently learned that an unauthorized employee accessed electronic patient medical records without medical reason to do so. As a result, the employee has been terminated and is no longer on staff at Lowell General Hospital.

Lowell General Hospital launched a comprehensive investigation as soon as we learned that an employee may have accessed patient records inappropriately. Based on this review, Lowell General Hospital believes that a single employee accessed and reviewed patient records inappropriately in direct violation of hospital policy and trainings. The information that was inappropriately accessed may have included name, date of birth, diagnoses, and other information about patient’s medical treatment. The individual did not have access to social security numbers, insurance policy numbers, or any other financial information. There is no evidence that any of the information has been used inappropriately.

We are taking immediate action to prevent such incidents in the future. We are in the process of reviewing the privacy and security of our electronic medical records system and making improvements to safeguards and monitoring activities. We will continuously provide education to all employees regarding the importance of patient privacy.

We sincerely apologize and regret that this situation has occurred. Lowell General Hospital is committed to providing quality care, including protecting our patients’ personal information, and we want to assure you that we have policies and procedures in place to protect your privacy.

If you were personally affected by this incident and we have your current address, you will be receiving a letter informing you that your personal and health information was inappropriately accessed.  Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions about this incident or if you need additional information on what you should do as a result of the incident, at 855-463-9544.

So for how long did this inappropriate access occur? And how did the hospital first discover it?  The hospital did not immediately respond to an emailed inquiry seeking that information.

Related posts:

  • Small-Scale Violations of Medical Privacy Often Cause the Most Harm
Category: Health DataInsiderU.S.

Post navigation

← Former Sysadmin Caught Hacking His Ex-Employer by His Replacement
Henry Ford Health System Warns 18,470 Patients Of Data Breach →

1 thought on “Lowell General Hospital notifies patients after firing rogue employee who accessed files improperly”

  1. Joe says:
    December 6, 2017 at 3:17 pm

    Just one more reason hospitals shouldn’t be taking motorists blood.

Comments are closed.

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

  • Disgruntled IT Worker Jailed for Cyber Attack, Huddersfield
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Texas Centers for Infectious Disease Associates Notifies Individuals of Data Breach in 2024
  • Battlefords Union Hospitals notifies patients of employee snooping in their records
  • Alert: Scattered Spider has added North American airline and transportation organizations to their target list
  • Northern Light Health patients affected by security incident at Compumedics; 10 healthcare entities affected
  • Privacy commissioner reviewing reported Ontario Health atHome data breach
  • CMS warns Medicare providers of fraud scheme
  • Ex-student charged with wave of cyber attacks on Sydney uni
  • Detaining Hackers Before the Crime? Tamil Nadu’s Supreme Court Approves Preventive Custody for Cyber Offenders

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

  • Supreme Court Decision on Age Verification Tramples Free Speech and Undermines Privacy
  • New Jersey Issues Draft Privacy Regulations: The New
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina
  • European Commission publishes its plan to enable more effective law enforcement access to data

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.