HIT Upgrade in Cleveland Causes Big Breach

A breach that occurred while updating physician systems has resulted in University Hospitals in Cleveland notifying 7,170 patients that their protected health information was compromised.


A breach that occurred while updating physician systems has resulted in University Hospitals in Cleveland notifying 7,170 patients that their protected health information was compromised.

Information at risk includes names, addresses, dates of birth, medical record numbers, insurance provider information and some clinical information. Thirty-three individuals had their Social Security numbers compromised and they are being offered one year of credit monitoring and identity theft protection, according to a University Hospitals notice. Other affected patients are receiving information on protecting themselves from fraud.

For your consideration: 6 Steps to Showing HIPAA Privacy/Security Compliance

During the technology upgrade, physician data was backed up on various hard drives and one of the drives was stolen from the vehicle of a contractor’s employee, the organization explains. “It is important to note that to date, UH has not received any reports that the personal and medical information has been accessed or misused. It is possible that the thief may be unaware of the nature of the information on the device or may be unable to access it.”

University Hospitals now is enhancing its encryption policies and procedures.

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