Kaiser Permanente discloses ID numbers for almost 200,000 members
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, September 26, 2005
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Kaiser Permanente accidentally printed member identification numbers on a mailing label for the summer issue of Kaiser's publication, Rocky Mountain Health. The privacy breach affected approximately 190,000 members.
Though the identification numbers are not the same as Social Security numbers, there is the potential for misuse. For example, someone could create a fake membership card using the identification number, or try to obtain member health information by calling Kaiser and using the number. Kaiser notified regulators of the problem and sent a letter to affected members.
Nationwide, almost 15,000 HIPAA violations have been reported to HHS' Office for Civil Rights. The agency has not issued any fines.
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