Chilton Medical Center

Chilton Medical Center, the covered entity (CE) reported that an employee removed a computer hard drive containing patients’ protected health information (PHI) and sold it on the internet. The hard drive contained 4,600 patients’ names, addresses, dates of birth, medications, other treatment information, and medical record numbers. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals, and the media. Following the breach, the CE notified Morris County New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and sanctioned the employee (which in this case included termination of employment). The CE revised its policy governing the management of all electronic assets within the organization, improved physical security, and implemented a new procedure for decommissioning hard drives. OCR obtained assurances that the CE implemented the corrective actions listed above. The CE is expected to develop an updated and thorough risk analysis and develop and implement a corresponding risk management plan.