Bon Secours employees cause of breach

Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital in Suffolk, Va., is notifying about 5,000 patients after discovering a significant amount of inappropriate access to patients’ EHRs from two employees inside the facility.

During an April 2013 audit of a patient’s medical record, the health system identified suspicious access that prompted an investigation. The investigation revealed that two members of the patient care team accessed patients’ medical records in a manner that was inconsistent with their job functions and hospital procedures, and inconsistent with the training they received regarding appropriate access of patient medical records, according to a statement. 

The information accessed by these employees included one or more of the following: patient name; dates and times of service; provider and facility names; internal hospital medical record and account numbers, which may have included social security number; date of birth; and treatment information, such as diagnosis, medications and vital signs.

The health system became concerned that the access to the medical records possibly indicated unlawful behavior and contacted law enforcement to assist with the investigation. Local and federal law enforcement agencies have formed The Peninsula Task Force to work with Bon Secours to thoroughly investigate this matter and to determine if any patient information may have been used illegally. The employees involved in this incident have been terminated.

The local newspaper Daily Press reports the employees were two certified nurse assistants and that the breaches occurred between April 2012 and April 2013. The hospital started using the EHR in April 2012 and the breach was the first instance of a reportable security issue, a hospital official told the newspaper.

The hospital is offering paid identity theft protection services to affected patients.