Kern County Mental Health

The covered entity (CE), Kern County Mental Health, discovered a 290-page paper printout of accounts receivables for the month of September 2006 in an open file container that was left in a vacated area of their facility on April 15, 2016. The protected health information (PHI) involved in the breach included patients' names, medical record numbers, dates of service, numerical service codes, and amounts billed. Approximately 1,212 individuals were affected by this breach. The CE initially provided substitute and media breach notifications and notification to HHS. After receiving technical assistance from OCR, the CE provided individual breach notification. Following the breach, the CE revised its policies and procedures for moving and vacating office space to ensure that a thorough walk-through of the area is completed prior to vacating an area. The CE also retrained staff on these revised policies and procedures to ensure they are implemented.