From the Office of Attorney General Maura Healey, an announcement of a settlement in the wake of insider breaches:
“Massachusetts residents rely on their health care providers to keep private health information safe and secure,” said AG Healey. “This resolution ensures UMass Memorial implements important measures to prevent this type of breach from happening again.”
Investigations by the AG’s Office revealed that the breaches exposed patient information including names, addresses, social security numbers, clinical information and health insurance information.
The AG’s lawsuit alleges that UMass Memorial Medical Group Inc. and UMass Memorial Medical Center Inc. knew of these employees’ misconduct but failed to properly investigate complaints related to these breaches, discipline the employees involved in a timely manner, or take other steps to safeguard the information.
As part of the settlement, the UMass Memorial Medical Group Inc. and UMass Memorial Medical Center Inc. have agreed to conduct employee background checks and ensure proper employee discipline; train employees on the proper handling of patient information; limit employee access to patient information; identify and remediate potential data security issues; and promptly investigate suspected improper access to patient information.
The UMass Memorial entities will also be required to hire an independent third-party firm to conduct a review of its data security policies and procedures, which the health care entities will report to the AG’s Office.
This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Michael Wong and Legal Analyst Elizabeth Carnes Flynn, with assistance from Division Chief Eric Gold, all of AG Healey’s Health Care Division.