This is not the first time we’ve seen a cleaning crew accidentally improperly dispose of patient records, but I do like Allina Health’s response to this incident to prevent recurrences. February 23 – This announcement is regarding a privacy incident that occurred at Minneapolis Heart Institute® at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, located at 800 E 28thSt., Minneapolis,…
Category: Health Data
Data of 750 Patients Breached in Computer Theft at Sharp Healthcare
Cassia Pollock reports: The personal health information of more than 750 outpatients at Sharp Healthcare might have been compromised because of a computer theft, the San Diego-based medical care provider announced Friday. In a statement, Sharp said a computer and external storage device were discovered missing on Feb. 6 from a locked cabinet in an access-controlled patient…
Health insurer Excellus fails in latest attempt to get breach lawsuit dismissed
Patrick O’Neill reports the latest litigation update involving Excellus, whose breach was covered on this site in 2015: Four years after Excellus BlueCross BlueShield was hacked and more than 10 million members had their data exposed, the insurer remains on the defensive in class action lawsuits claiming it ignored cybersecurity at peril of its own members….
Newnan Woman Sentenced for Student Financial Aid Fraud; Used Patients’ Info
NEWNAN, Ga. – Andrea R. Williams has been sentenced to six years and seven months in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for using stolen identities to file dozens of fraudulent federal student aid applications. According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: From in or about…
UK: Private health firm fined £200,000 after IVF patients’ confidential conversations revealed online
From the Information Commissioner’s Office: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined a private health company, HCA International Ltd, for failing to keep fertility patients’ personal information secure. The £200,000 monetary penalty has been issued as a result of an ICO investigation into the way the Lister Hospital was transferring, transcribing and storing records of IVF…
NC health department exposed patient information in email
Lynn Bonner reports: The state Department of Health and Human Services sent private patient information to adult care homes by unencrypted email last year. The security lapse involved 12,731 Medicaid patients living in adult care homes. On Nov. 30, an employee sent an unencrypted email that included patient names, Medicaid numbers, and the homes where…