Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital

The covered entity (CE), Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, reported that protected health information (PHI) was impermissibly disclosed when it was scattered alongside a road for four miles. The PHI included the names, dates of birth, claims information, and health diagnoses and conditions of 837 individuals. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals, and the media. Following the breach, the CE conducted an internal investigation and transferred all of its offsite storage units containing PHI to a new storage and disposal vendor with improved safeguards. In addition, the CE retrained its workforce, including its management. OCR obtained documentation that the CE implemented the corrective actions listed.