On May 23, the North Shore University Sleep Disorders Center in New York notified HHS that 13,332 patients were affected by a breach that it coded as “Unauthorized Access/Disclosure” of data located “Other.” While the number affected might not seem unusually disturbing in this day and age of big breaches, the circumstances of the breach…
Category: HIPAA
Comstar LLC agrees to corrective action plan and fine to settle HHS OCR charges
In May 2022, DataBreaches reported that ambulance billing service Comstar LLC in Massachusetts was notifying an undisclosed number of people following a data security breach of their system detected on March 26, 2022. On May 26, 2022, they also notified HHS of the incident, reporting that 68,957 patients were affected. Today, HHS OCR announced that…
HHS OCR Settles HIPAA Security Rule Investigation of BayCare Health System for $800k and Corrective Action Plan
HHS OCR has settled another enforcement action involving the HIPAA Security Rule. From their press release yesterday, it sounds like an insider wrongdoing case. In its formal resolution agreement, the government states that on October 23, 2018, OCR received a complaint alleging that on October 8, 2018, an unknown third party accessed her printed and…
HHS Office for Civil Rights Settles HIPAA Cybersecurity Investigation with Vision Upright MRI
On March 10, 2025, Vision Upright MRI notified HHS of a breach affecting 23,031 patients, but there was nothing posted on their website to explain the breach. A press release issued by HHS today provides some explanation for the incident that involved the medical images of 21,778 patients. From their release: OCR initiated a compliance…
HHS Office for Civil Rights Settles Phishing Attack Breach with Health Care Network for $600,000
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement with PIH Health, Inc. (PIH), a California health care network, over potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The violations stem from a phishing attack that exposed unsecured electronic protected health…
HHS Office for Civil Rights Settles HIPAA Ransomware Cybersecurity Investigation with Guam Memorial Hospital Authority
While DataBreaches was aware of the 2023 incident referenced below, this site was not aware of any 2019 ransomware attack. The following is a press release issued by HHS OCR today: Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement with Guam Memorial Hospital Authority (GMHA),…