Thief steals data for 365,000 patients from car
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, January 30, 2006
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIPAA Weekly Advisor!
A thief stole the medical records of 365,000 patients, smashing the window of a van that contained computer disks and digital tape that stored the sensitive information, The Oregonian reports.
Officials for Oregon-based Providence Health System admitted that it was routine for certain employees to take records home, as a backup in case a major records system failure occurred and patient data was needed during an emergency. The records contain names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and health information.
Although Providence employees initially claimed that the information was encrypted, a company spokesperson admitted on Wednesday that it was not. The organization has since changed its back-up procedures. Oregon authorities will investigate whether Providence's practices violated state law. For a HIPAA investigation to begin, a patient must first file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights.
Click here to read The Oregonian article.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIPAA Weekly Advisor!
Related Products
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Q/A: Volume requirement for reporting hydration services
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- Catch up on what's new with injections and infusions
- Topic: CMS, OESS post new security compliance review information, checklist
- Capturing all necessary codes for IUD insertion and removal can be challenging
- HIPAA Q&A: Level of encryption needed for email
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- Identify potential Medicaid RAC target areas
- QA:Coding multiple initial infusions
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- E-mailed
-
- Q/A: Volume requirement for reporting hydration services
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- HIPAA Q&A: Level of encryption needed for email
- Q&A: Follow CMS' coding guidelines when using modifier -25
- CMS has reformulated payments for some bilateral procedures
- Catch up on what's new with injections and infusions
- New conflicts of interest create new challenges
- Q/A. One injection code or two?
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- ED-to-inpatient transfers are flawed with safety gaps
- Searched