Health Information Management

Third-party vendor hacking compromises hospital records

HIM-HIPAA Insider, November 3, 2014

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!

A security breach at a third-party vendor in Ohio may have compromised the medical records of patients treated by a physician at Penn Highlands Brookville in Pennsylvania, according to a Penn Highlands Healthcare announcement.

 
Penn Highlands Brookville is one of four hospitals operated by Penn Highlands Healthcare. The hospital discovered August 14 that an unauthorized party gained access to the Ohio-based third-party server used to store PHI of patients of Barry J. Snyder, MD, who is employed by the hospital. The medical records stored on the server may have contained the following patient information:
  • Names
  • Addresses
  • Dates of birth
  • Driver’s license numbers
  • Social Security numbers
  • Phone numbers
  • Insurance information
  • Medical information
  • Gender
 
Upon learning of the incident, the hospital hired security and computer forensics experts to conduct an investigation. PHI of Dr. Snyder’s patients was moved to a secure server and the data contained on the affected server was destroyed, according to the announcement.
 
This article originally appeared on HCPro’s HIPAA Update blog. Stay up to date on all things HIPAA by signing up for e-mail updates from this blog.



Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!

    Briefings on APCs

  • Briefings on APCs

    Worried about the complexities of the new rules under OPPS and APCs? Briefings on APCs helps you understand the new rules...

  • HIM Briefings

    Guiding Health Information Management professionals through the continuously changing field of medical records and toward a...

  • Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies

    Submitting improper Medicare documentation can lead to denial of fees, payback, fines, and increased diligence from payers...

  • Briefings on HIPAA

    How can you minimize the impact of HIPAA? Subscribe to Briefings on HIPAA, your health information management resource for...

  • APCs Insider

    This HTML-based e-mail newsletter provides weekly tips and advice on the new ambulatory payment classifications regulations...

Most Popular