And yet again, HHS’s breach tool reveals breaches for which I can find no public statements or media coverage:
Lee Miller Rehab Associates,MD,,10480,1/15/2012,Theft,Network Server,2/7/2013,,
American HomePatient Inc.,TN,LifeGas,1103,10/11/2012,Theft,Laptop,2/7/2013,,
Riderwood Village,MD,,3230,11/18/2012,Theft,Laptop,2/8/2013,,
If anyone sees/find coverage, please let me know. Two of the incidents involved stolen laptops and it appears that HHS may not have notified within the 60-day window. That said, I don’t recall a single instance where HHS took action because of delayed or tardy notification.
Update: Thanks to Erickson Living for e-mailing a copy of their notification for the Riderwood Village incident. A spokesperson informs me that the five laptops were stolen from the Physical Therapy Department
DATE: January 18, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Daniel R. Dunne
Director of Communications
(410) 402-2097Health Information Privacy – Media Notice
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – January 18, 2013 – Due to the theft of five laptop computers at Riderwood<http://www.ericksonliving.com/silver-spring/silver-spring-senior-living.asp> the weekend of November 17-18, 2012, and the results of an internal investigation conducted since the theft to confirm the contents of the laptops, a risk of improper use of protected health information (PHI) is being reported to appropriate officials, patients and the media in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
The theft of the laptops was immediately reported to local law enforcement authorities and the matter remains under investigation. The laptops were password protected and did not include social security numbers or other sensitive financial information. However, since most of the laptops were only partially encrypted and used to access e-mail with PHI, appropriate steps are being taken to notify affected individuals, as well as minimize the possibility of information misuse.
There is no indication of any improper access or use of the personal information contained on the laptops and the motive for the crime appears to be the laptops themselves, and not the information contained on them. Based on a thorough review of this incident since the theft, multiple actions have been taken to help those impacted safeguard their information, as well as prevent similar situations from occurring.
Historically, Riderwood has taken the privacy of its residents and patients seriously by carefully managing their health information. Each year staff is required to successfully complete compliance and HIPAA training, which includes information about the importance of maintaining sensitive information. To date, no improper access or use of resident health information has been reported as a result of this isolated incident. Although written notice is being provided to each individual, if anyone has questions about the occurrence or the data involved, they may contact Jean Landreville, Riderwood’s Associate Executive Director at (301) 572-8492.
About Erickson Living: Erickson Living, developer and manager of Riderwood<http://www.ericksonliving.com/silver-spring/silver-spring-seniorliving.asp>, is based in Baltimore, Maryland. Further information regarding Erickson Living is available at:
www.ericksonliving.com<http://www.ericksonliving.com>.
The spokesperson declined to provide additional details on what types of PII/PHI were on the laptops, stating that the matter remains under review.