Potential healthcare data breach affected around 2,827 patients. Affected information included names, provider names, dates of service, and descriptions of medical services, such as X-ray or flu shot information, disclosed after their information was mailed to an another address.
According to the reports, facility mistakenly mailed 33 invoice documents to 18 addresses sometime between December 22, 2015 and April 2, 2016. Documents contained patient information for several individuals. The incident was caused by a technical error in the hospital’s billing systems.
Facility mentioned that there is involvement of financial, health insurance, or detailed treatment information. It also didn’t include dates of birth, Social Security numbers, or medical record numbers.
“UNM Hospital is committed to protecting the privacy and confidential health information of all of our patients, and we take this incident very seriously,” said Chief Privacy Officer of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center Sarah Morrow. “We have thoroughly investigated and identified the technical issues that lead to the erroneous mailings, and we are monitoring the system to ensure this does not happen again.”
According to the UNM website –
The UNM Health Sciences Center’s most important value is a steadfast duty to improve the health of all New Mexicans. We will serve our patients and the public with integrity and accountability. We will strive as an institution and as individuals to recognize, cultivate and promote all forms of diversity; to fully understand the health needs of our communities; and to advance clinical, academic, and research excellence. We are committed to perform our duties with compassion and respect for our patients, learners, and colleagues; and always to conduct ourselves with the highest level of professionalism.
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