The covered entity (CE), Samaritan Regional Health System, mismatched names and addresses in a mailing to former patients of a recently deceased physician. The protected health information (PHI) included the names and addresses of approximately 2,203 individuals. The CE provided breach notification to affected individuals, the media, and HHS, and posted substitute notice on its website. Following the breach, the CE re-trained staff on proper address validation techniques and implemented new audit procedures for mailings. OCR obtained assurances that the CE implemented the corrective action listed above.
