San Francisco Department of Public Health

On November 14, 2018, the covered entity (CE), San Francisco Department of Public Health, filed a breach notification report after discovering a computer error that caused its business associate (BA), Alluma, to mislabel letters and send them to the wrong people. This incident affected the protected health information (PHI) of 622 individuals and included paper records and films that contained demographic information. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals, and the media. Following the breach, the CE investigated the incident and implemented new technical safeguards. OCR obtained copies of the CE’s policies and procedures, documentation of administrative safeguards, and its BA agreement. As a result of OCR’s investigation, the CE added a step to its quality control process for renewal notices.