Bon Secours notifies patients of breach

Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System is contacting more than 5,000 patients on behalf of its Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News, Va., to let them know of an electronic health records security breach.

The breach, which occurred between April 2012 and April 2013, was discovered during an April 2013 audit of a patient's medical record. The health system in Suffolk, Va., identified suspicious accessing of records, and a subsequent investigation showed that two employees had inappropriately accessed information that may have included patient names; dates and times of service; provider and facility names; internal hospital medical record and account numbers, including Social Security numbers; dates of birth; and treatment information, such as diagnosis, medications and vital signs.

“It was outside the scope of their responsibilities, outside the guidelines of corporate compliance and outside their training,” director of corporate communications and media relations Lynne Zultanky told Modern Healthcare.

Though Bon Secours does not know if any patient information has been used illegally, the employees involved have been terminated, local and federal law enforcement agencies are investigating the incident, and the system is sending letters to the 5,764 patients whose personal information could be at risk. The system is also offering complimentary identify theft safeguards and assistance through Kroll Advisory Solutions to those patients.

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