Documents containing sensitive information were accidentally submitted as part of a court filing, leading to a data breach affecting 900 patients.
Greenville, N.C.-based Vidant Health discovered the incident on Jan. 14, according to a sample notification letter from the health system.
"Although Vidant Health believes it was appropriate to include your name, service dates, account balance and redacted account number in this filing, we additionally included your Social Security number, full account number, medical record number, date of birth, telephone number, sex and marital status," the letter reads. "Vidant Health has filed a motion to restrict public access to its previous submission."
All affected patients will receive free identity protection services for a year. Vidant also said it has updated its policies and retrained staff.
In February, Vidant notified employees of unauthorized access of their personal information at Vidant Duplin Hospital in Kenansville, N.C.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.