JEFFREY J. SMITH, MD

The covered entity (CE) shipped a skin analysis machine containing the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of approximately 600 individuals to the manufacturer for repairs via UPS. The machine was damaged and discarded by UPS. The ePHI included names, dates of birth and facial photographs. The CE posted breach notification on its website. As a result of OCR's investigation, the CE revised its policy regarding the security of hardware containing PHI so that all work on hardware will be performed on-site. The policy also requires that all ePHI is to be backed up and erased from the hardware prior to any unavoidable off-site maintenance.