Former hospital employee snooped on 692 patients
An employee at Cleveland-based University Hospitals (UH) reportedly accessed the personal and medical information of 692 patients from Jan. 25, 2011 through June 27, 2014.
The former UH employee breached the hospital’s EMR system to access patients’ names, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, medical and health insurance account numbers and other information. Some patients’ Social Security numbers and financial information also were accessed, reports Cleveland.com.
“This sounds like a very serious case of medical identity theft. It is serious when it involves one patient. This is a major breach. It’s a big deal,” World Privacy Forum Executive Director Pam Dixon told the newspaper.
However, UH officials say it will take years before it’s known whether there is any fraud. All affected patients have been notified.
"UH takes the protection of patient health information very seriously,'' according to a statement from the hospital. “UH continually evaluates and modifies its practices to enhance the security and privacy of its patients' information, including the ongoing training, education and counseling of its workforce regarding patient privacy matters.''