Brian Bandell reports: A man who stole patient information from Baptist Health South Florida as part of a tax fraud scheme has been sentenced to prison. Miami resident Cristobal Raul Puig was sentenced to 31 months in federal prison. He previously pleaded guilty to possessing 15 or more Social Security numbers of other people. According…
Category: Health Data
Foundations Recovery Network notifying patients after a laptop with PHI was stolen from an employee's car
Foundations Recovery Network sent out this letter to patients last week: I am writing on behalf of Foundations Recovery Network to inform you of a recent privacy incident concerning your personal information. On Saturday, June 15 th, one of our employees informed us that she had been the victim of a burglary during the early…
One hour breach notification mandate proposed regarding Obamacare health exchanges
Joseph J. Lazzarotti writes: Most breach notification mandates require a notice be provided without unreasonable delay. In some cases, such as under HIPAA, the same standard applies but also with an outside date to provide the notice – 60 days. Proposed regulations under the Affordable Care Act would require notification to the Department of Health…
OR: Break-in at North Lincoln County Community Health Center Clinic
Here’s one I missed last week, from The NEWSGuard: “It feels really not good and it is a violating feeling to have someone break into your clinic,” said Gretchen Gantz, HIPAA Privacy and Security Officer for Lincoln County Health and Human Services. Her statement follows the break-in of the North Lincoln County Community Health Center…
PA: Ephrata Community Hospital fires employee for snooping in patient records
In a statement on their web site linked from their home page as a privacy notice, Ephrata Community Hospital in Pennsylvania writes: Ephrata Community Hospital takes our obligation to protect our patients’ personal health information seriously. Regrettably, this notice concerns some of that information. On April 16, 2013, we learned that one of our employees had accessed…
HHS releases statement on Prime Healthcare/Shasta Regional settlement
In a press release issued yesterday and posted today, HHS writes: Shasta Regional Medical Center (SRMC) has agreed to a comprehensive corrective action plan to settle a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) investigation concerning potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. The HHS Office for Civil…