Muskogee Regional Medical Center

A binder containing flu test results went missing from the lab of the covered entity (CE), Muskogee Regional Medical Center, on or about December 5, 2011. The binder contained the protected health information (PHI) of approximately 844 individuals, including patients’ names, account numbers, genders, medical record numbers, dates of birth, ages, test dates, and flu test results. Although the CE’s investigation could not confirm that the information had been impermissibly disclosed, it provided breach notification to the potentially affected individuals, HHS and the media. Following discovery of the incident, the CE retrained laboratory workforce members regarding proper handling and disposal procedures for PHI. It also determined to eliminate such paper records and to store future similar records electronically. OCR obtained assurances that the corrective actions listed above were completed.