Healthcare employee data missing in California
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, July 2, 2007
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The Fresno Bee reports that a disk containing thousands of names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of home healthcare workers has been missing for more than one month, and is still unaccounted for. The disk, which has been missing since May 10, was sent via DHL courier service from Fresno County to Refined Technologies, Inc., a technology firm in San Jose, CA. Refined Technologies claims it never received the disk at the intended destination. DHL disagrees, noting that there was no signature required for delivery. The disk contains unencrypted PHI for thousands of home healthcare workers, raising the prospect of identity theft.
Neither In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority of San Francisco, nor the home healthcare workers' union, SEIU United Health Care Workers West of Oakland CA, immediately notified the workers whose personal information was contained on the disk. The organizations claim this was so as to avoid alarming the homecare workers, though some believe that even a month later, not enough has been done to alert the affected persons.
Kristin Bengyel, executive director of the county's In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority, also says that Fresno County has adopted encryption technology to transmit data securely over the Internet in the future.
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