Massachusetts General Hospital at the Brigham said it had fired two employees who allowed unauthorized access to patients’ personal information earlier this year.
Healthcare system It said in a statement The company discovered the breach on April 4 and immediately began investigating the incident. The company ultimately concluded that two employees may have allowed unauthorized individuals to perform parts of their job duties and view patients’ personal information between February 26 and April 4.
“This was in violation of MGB’s employment and privacy policies and was done without MGB’s knowledge or consent,” the health system said. “As a result, the employee was terminated immediately.”
Massachusetts General Brigham Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act A (HIPPA) notice was sent to patients last week disclosing the violation. According to MassLive:.
According to Massachusetts General Brigham, the incident may have allowed unauthorized individuals to view patient names, addresses, medical record numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, phone numbers, and health insurance card numbers. Patient visit and hospitalization information, including dates, locations, diagnoses, and guarantors, may also have been accessed.
“Some individuals also contained Social Security numbers and credit card numbers,” the system said.
In response, Massachusetts General Hospital at the Brigham branch said it was offering 24 months of free credit monitoring to patients whose information was exposed and was taking steps to prevent future privacy violations.
“We deeply regret that this incident occurred,” the company said.
Patients who would like more information about this incident or would like to sign up for a free credit report are urged to contact the company’s Privacy Call Center at 1-888-826-9548.
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