An employee of the Brain Tissue Research Center within McLean Hospital Corporation’s Department of Neuroscience (the Brain Bank) failed to return four backup tapes in her possession after she was terminated affecting approximately 12,673 individuals. The types of electronic protected health information (ePHI) involved included names, addresses, dates of birth, dates of death, intake diagnoses, family medical histories, and social security numbers. Following this incident, the covered entity (CE) retrained staff on privacy and security. OCR obtained written assurances that the CE has encrypted all backup tapes used by the Brain Bank and that it revised and enhanced ePHI backup procedures. OCR is also aware that the CE entered into a consent judgment with required corrective action with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
