Harris Well being System
Harris Well being is notifying greater than 5,000 sufferers of a “privateness incident” through which a former worker allegedly accessed and launched affected person data to unauthorized people a number of years.
An inner investigation performed by Harris Well being in 2021 decided that medical and insurance coverage data of sufferers might have been obtained by a former worker in 2011 with out permission. The knowledge accessed by the worker might have contained Social Safety numbers, in response to Harris Well being.
The worker was terminated after the investigation, which was performed with a nationwide forensics agency. The FBI launched an investigation into the alleged knowledge leak in 2021 and required Harris Well being to delay notifying sufferers.
Harris Well being solely acquired permission from the FBI to start notifying sufferers of the privateness incident this week. Bryan McLeod, a spokesperson for the well being system, declined to say the identify of the previous worker on the heart of the investigation, citing privateness considerations.
“Up to now, Harris Well being has not been in a position to decide which particular sufferers’ data was disclosed outdoors the group, however is notifying all sufferers whose digital medical document might have been impermissibly accessed by the previous worker,” in response to a press launch from the well being system on Friday.
The FBI didn’t instantly reply to a request in search of remark.
Harris Well being right now started mailing notification letters to sufferers whose medical data might have been accessed by the worker.
Sufferers of the well being system are inspired to evaluate statements from well being insurers and report costs for companies they didn’t obtain to the insurer, in response to the press launch.
The well being system is providing sufferers whose social safety data might have been accessed with complimentary credit score monitoring. Info on these companies will probably be supplied within the letters.
“Harris Well being has additionally carried out enhanced proactive monitoring and auditing capabilities that can help Harris Well being in detecting and stopping related incidents from occurring sooner or later,” in response to the press launch.
