Texas agency misplaces information on nine million records
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, May 14, 2007
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The Texas Health and Human Services Commission misplaced 14 data tapes that held approximately nine million records that the state used to verify Medicaid claims, reports the Associated Press (AP).
The state recovered the unencrypted tapes on May 4 in a state office building, two weeks after they disappeared when a courier delivered them to the wrong bin in an office building, according to the AP. The state contractor who sent the tapes never informed the recipient that they were on their way, leading no one to realize that the tapes were missing until a week had passed.
The information included patients' Social Security numbers and other information. There is no evidence that anyone accessed the information. The state is working to establish a tracking process to prevent similar events in the future, according to the AP.
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