An employee of the covered entity emailed protected health information (PHI) to an offsite research office (which is not itself a covered entity) in violation of the review preparatory to research protocol. The research office stored the electronic information on an external hard drive that was later stolen. The device contained the PHI of 2,416 individuals. The PHI involved in the breach included names, dates of birth, and clinical information. In response to this incident, the covered entity terminated transmission of the PHI to this research office and gave the responsible employee a verbal warning and counseling. Additionally, the covered entity undertook a review of all research affiliations involving PHI of hospital patients to confirm that appropriate documentation and procedures are in place. \
