Crown Point Health Center

Patients’ empty paper file folders with protected health information (PHI) appearing on the front cover were improperly disposed of when an employee put them in the regular trash. The PHI on the cover included patients' dates of birth, medical record numbers, and guarantors' names. Approximately 1,854 individuals were affected by this breach. The covered entity (CE) provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals and the media. The notification letter informed the individuals that a hotline had been established to address their questions and provided the hotline phone number. To prevent a similar breach from happening in the future, the CE sanctioned the involved employee and counseled the remaining staff regarding this matter. OCR obtained assurances that the CE implemented the corrective actions listed above.