Accuprint

The covered entity's (CE) business associate (BA) erroneously sent explanation of benefits letters (EOBs) containing the protected health information (PHI) of 5,848 individuals to other individuals. The PHI included names, addresses, current procedural terminology codes (CPT), explanations of CPT codes, providers' names, and dates of service. Upon discovery of the breach, the CE provided notice to the individuals affected by the breach but did not notify the media. As a result of OCR's investigation, OCR provided technical assistance regarding the requirements of the Breach Notification Rule to the CE and the CE published a media notice. In addition, the CE developed policies and procedures requiring quality control checks on the BA. In addition, the BA adopted a new software system that validates the contents of the EOBs prior to mailing. The breach incident involved a BA and occurred prior to the September 23, 2013, compliance date. OCR verified that the CE had a proper BA agreement in place that restricted the BA's use of PHI and required the BA to safeguard all PHI.