NCH Healthcare System

NCH National Healthcare System, the covered entity (CE), reported that it was the victim of an email phishing scheme affecting the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of 63,581 individuals. The ePHI involved included names, birthdates, addresses, drivers’ license information, Social Security numbers, diagnoses, and financial information. The CE notified HHS, affected individuals, the media, and posted substitute notice on its website. In its mitigation efforts, the CE implemented additional technical safeguards to better protect its sensitive data. It also retrained its staff on the proper methods of identifying fraudulent email communications. During the investigation, OCR provided technical assistance to the CE regarding the Breach Notification Rule. OCR obtained assurances that the CE implemented the corrective actions noted.