Mass General Brigham, the covered entity (CE), reported that several employees impermissibly shared their system credentials with an unauthorized individual in an effort to outsource their job duties. This breach affected the protected health information (PHI) of 655 individuals. The PHI involved included names, addresses, medical record numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, health insurance and claims information, diagnoses, and other treatment information. The CE notified HHS, affected individuals, the media, and posted substitute notice on its website. In its mitigation efforts, the CE provided complimentary credit monitoring services and established a call center for questions or concerns. In addition, the employees were sanctioned and all staff were retrained on the requirement to protect and secure sensitive data.
