Health Information Management

St. Louis County Health Department experiences a breach

HIM-HIPAA Insider, January 26, 2015

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

The St. Louis County Health Department recently discovered that a document containing PHI was emailed to the personal account of a former employee, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

 
The document listed names and Social Security numbers of inmates treated at Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton, Missouri, from 2008 through 2014. The St. Louis County Health Department instructed the former employee to delete the document. The department did not identify the former employee by name, but said she resigned in November 2014 after being employed by the department for 25 years. The former employee held a clerical position and her duties involved verifying medical claims information for inmates, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
 
The health department notified authorities and affected patients of the breach, although there is no indication that the information in the PHI in the document was misused. The department is taking precautions to ensure an incident like this will not occur again. It will continue conducting annual HIPAA training, according the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
 
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