Leominster Dermatology

OCR opened an investigation of the covered entity (CE), New England Dermatology P.C., after it reported that one of its locations, Northampton, disposed of patient records containing protected health information (PHI) without shredding them prior to disposal in a dumpster. The PHI included demographic and clinical information. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals, and the media and provided substitute notice as appropriate. Following the breach, the CE implemented a new HIPAA compliant procedure for disposal of PHI and trained staff on its new procedures. CE also hired a new business association (BA) to shred all records containing PHI and executed a HIPAA compliant BA agreement. As a result of OCR’s investigation, the CE implemented new policies and procedures.