United Community & Family Services

United Community Family Services, the covered entity (CE), mistakenly sent an email blast that advertised dental services, to current and former patients, with email addresses visible to all of the other recipients of the email. The emails were encrypted so that that only the recipients could have accessed them. Approximately 1,095 individuals were affected by this breach. The types of protected health information (PHI) involved in the breach included some names as part of the email addresses and the implied suggestion that these individuals had received dental services from this CE. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals, and the media. As a result of OCR’s investigation, the CE implemented plans to review and revise its policies to ensure adequate safeguards of electronic PHI. Additionally, the covered entity re-trained staff on its HIPAA policies and issued periodic HIPAA reminders to staff.