Western Connecticut Health Network

Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN), the covered entity (CE), discovered that a box containing protected health information (PHI) was damaged during shipping. Some of the contents of the box were either damaged or are missing. This incident affected 1,293 individuals and the PHI involved included names, addresses, dates of birth, medical record numbers, and treatment information. OCR reviewed the covered entity’s policies and procedures which conform to the requirements of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The covered entity notified OCR, the media, and all affected individuals. As a result of this breach, the covered entity is proceeding to phase in the use of electronic transmission of PHI in a secure format.