And this is why I always wait to close out monthly stats in healthcare. The following incident just showed up on HHS’s public breach tool today as having been reported to them on July 30, and affecting 301,000 patients. St. Mary’s Hospital’s notice, below, indicates that the entity was not sure of the number affected. …
Category: Paper
NSW: ‘Disturbing’ privacy breach revealed: Over 1,000 NSW Health medical records abandoned in derelict building
Ange McCormack reports: More than 1,000 confidential medical records have been left on the floor at a derelict former aged care facility operated by the New South Wales Government. The privacy breach, uncovered in a triple j Hack and ABC News investigation, is believed to be one of the largest of its kind in Australian…
Patient data found in Helsinki street
YLE reports: Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reports that a trove of patient data including names and personal ID numbers has been found in the Pasila district of Helsinki. The data is from patient records from a contraception clinic from the 1980s and 1990s. An IS reader spotted the papers and found six documents on Asemapäällikönkatu, before…
SC: Roper Hospital patient records in courier’s stolen car
Rebecca Collett reports that a courier for Roper Hospital had a suitcase with patient records stolen on July 3 while she was paying for gas: The medical records were in a locked suitcase in the car, according to Andy Lyons, the Director of Corporate Communications for the hospital system. The records belong to 133 patients…
New England Dermatology creates new protocol after improper patient records disposal
Amy Phillips reports: New England Dermatology, P.C., d/b/a New England Dermatology and Laser Center (“NEDLC”), is reporting that paper records containing health information of patients who were seen at their Northampton office during a period from approximately June 10, 2013 to May 23, 2018 were discarded without first being shredded. NEDLC self-reported the lapse in appropriate waste…
NZ: Investigation, apology after doctor loses confidential breast cancer patient files
Kirsty Johnston reports: A doctor lost a file containing highly sensitive information about breast cancer patients, while walking between a hospital and a radiation clinic, it has emerged. Police have been called over the blunder amid fears someone has found the document and plans to make it public. Both agencies involved – Southern District Health…