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Don't Forget Paper Records In HIPAA Security
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Hospice notifies 5,000 patients of possible HIPAA breach.
A North Carolina hospice is notifying patients of a possible HIPAA breach, and for once stolen laptops aren’t to blame.
Due to a Feb. 24 break-in at its office in Burlington, N.C., Hospice & Palliative Care Center of Alamance-Caswell did suffer stolen laptops. However, the data on the laptops was all encrypted for security, reports The Times-News newspaper. Instead, the hospice had to notify about 5,370 past hospice and LifePath Home Health patients that personal health information in paper medical and billing records could have been compromised by two intruders.
The two 19-year-olds charged with the crime allegedly cost the hospice more by discharging fire extinguishers inside the building than the thefts, the newspaper says. Even though the thieves didn’t appear to be after PHI, “you can’t be too careful,” a hospice rep told the Times-News.
The hospice is offering free credit monitoring for a year and is recommending those notified about the potential breach place a fraud alert with credit bureaus.
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