AccentCare Home Health of California, Inc. Medicare # 057564 CA state License # 080000226

A former workforce member of the covered entity (CE), AccentCare Home Health Care of CA, downloaded and forwarded the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of approximately 1,000 individuals via a personal email account to other ex-workforce members. The ePHI included names, addresses, zip codes, social security numbers, diagnoses and conditions. This was discovered nearly a year after the incident during a deposition. The intended recipients denied requesting or receiving the ePHI. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals, and the media. Following discovery of the breach, the CE hired a third party to conduct a risk assessment, followed through with recommended risk management processes and began working toward obtaining a HITRUST Certification. As a result of OCR’s investigation, the CE improved its understanding of the risk analysis and risk management process.