Several health data breaches have been reported in recent weeks, potentially affecting the personal health information of tens of thousands of patients.
Calif.-Based Fred Finch Youth Center Breach Details
The Fred Finch Youth Center is notifying 6,800 individuals of a break-in at a San Diego County, Calif., location that could have compromised protected health information, Health IT Securityreports.
Pieces of computer equipment were stolen from the center during the first weekend in April, and FFYC learned of the incident on April 6.
Information contained on the computers includes:
- Birthdates;
- Medicaid account numbers, in some cases;
- Names;
- Social Security numbers; and
- Treatment information.
FFYC said the equipment has technical protections to limit access to the information, but it also noted that an individual with adequate skills could break through the protections.
Potentially affected individuals can receive a year of no-cost identity protection services, and clients are encouraged to be alert for unfamiliar medical bills.
FFYC President and CEO Tom Alexander in a statement said, “While we believe the primary motivation for this event was likely the resale value of the computer equipment, rather than the information it contained, we are working with a team of experts to continue to investigate” (Snell,Health IT Security, 6/10).
Indiana-based Medical Informatics Engineering Breach Details
Last week, cloud-based electronic health record vendor Medical Informatics Engineering reported a data breach that could affect the EHRs of some of its clients, FierceEMR reports (Durben Hirsch,FierceEMR, 6/12).
On May 26, the company discovered an attack on its main network and its subsidiary NoMoreClipboard’s network that started on May 7 (AP/Indianapolis Star, 6/10). Information on the hacked servers included:
- Birthdates;
- Email addresses;
- Dictated reports;
- Mailing addresses;
- Medical conditions;
- Names; and
- Social Security numbers.
In the announcement, MIE noted that only some of its clients were affected, including:
- Concentra, a nationwide network of specialty and primary-care clinics;
- The Gynecology Center in Fort Wayne, Ind.;
- Franciscan St. Francis Health Indianapolis;
- The Neurological Center in Fort Wayne; and
- Rochester Medical Group in Rochester Hills, Mich. (Rubenfire, Modern Healthcare, 6/11).
MIE CEO Eric Jones said that MIE has not yet determined how many patients could be affected (AP/Indianapolis Star, 6/10).
Affected patients will receive no-cost credit monitoring and identity services for two years. The company has also created a call center to respond to questions about the incident (AP/Indianapolis Star, 6/10).
N.Y.-Based North Shore Long Island Health System Breach Details
North Shore Long Island Health System is notifying about 18,000 patients that their personal health information could have been compromised following the theft of laptops from a contractor’s office,Becker’s Hospital Review reports.
Five laptops were stolen from the Global Care Delivery’s offices in September 2014, and the incident was confirmed May 11. Four of the devices could have contained patients':
- Birthdates;
- Diagnosis and procedure codes;
- Insurance information;
- Internal account numbers;
- Names; and
- Social Security numbers for about 2,000 patients.
The devices were not encrypted, though they were password-protected. They have not been recovered (Jayanthi, Becker’s Hospital Review, 6/15).
Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services Breach Details
On Thursday, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services began notifying individuals of an incident that could have compromised the information of about 6,600 Medicaid beneficiaries,FierceHealthIT reports (Dvorak, FierceHealthIT, 6/15).
On April 21, DADS learned that the beneficiaries’ information included on a DADS website was publicly accessible, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports.
Information that was exposed includes:
- Birthdates;
- Mailing addresses;
- Names;
- Residences;
- Medicaid numbers;
- Medical diagnoses;
- Social Security numbers; and
- Treatment information.
The agency will offer no-cost identity theft restoration and credit monitoring services to affected individuals (AP/Sacramento Bee, 6/11).
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