Patient Data Incident

NOTIFICATION OF A DATA SECURITY INCIDENT

Be informed that a data security incident initiated from one of our business associates may have resulted in access to some of our patients’ protected health information (PHI). This data security incident is external and separate from our agency’s technology systems and has not impacted our internal data security system.  We take the privacy and security of our patients’ information very seriously and have notified (by mail) those who may have been impacted out of an abundance of caution.

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What Information Was Involved?

Based on what we learned from the third party vendor, the information that may have been involved could include name, date of birth, address, diagnoses, treatment information, insurance identifier, account identifiers and clinician name and credentials. We have been informed that there is no evidence at this time that PHI has been misused, but we are providing this notice because select PHI may have been accessed or viewed without authorization.

What We Are Doing

We no longer use this particular third party vendor for our physician order approval process.  Upon learning of the incident, we began an investigation and worked with the business associate to contain the incident, assess the scope of the event, and review available safeguards. We are also reviewing our vendor oversight, security controls, and incident response procedures to help reduce the risk of a similar event in the future.

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What You Can Do

Although we do not have evidence of misuse, we recommend that you remain alert to any explanations of benefits, medical bills, or communications that you do not recognize. If you see anything suspicious, please contact your health plan or provider with any concerns.

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For More Information

If you have questions about this incident, or to learn if your information may have been accessed, please contact the Compliance Officer,  508-827-7954 or complianceofficer@reliefhhs.com, Monday through Thursday between 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.