HIPAA Blog

[ Monday, May 08, 2006 ]

 

Another Dumpster Full of Medical Records: Dental records, actually, but the point is the same. According to KING-TV (registration required), records from a dental practice were accidentally taken by a salvage company that was supposed to remove some restaurant equipment but also took the records, which were nearby. The salvage company handed off the paper "salvage" for recycling, and that's how the records ended up in a recycling bin. According to the story, all of the records that made it into the recycling bin were retrieved, but more records may have simply gone to the dump.

Naturally, the big problem is not that the records contain medical (or in this case dental) records, but that they contain bank account numbers, social security numbers, and other demographic data that could be used by an identity thief.

Hat tip: Emma Squillace.

Jeff [4:51 PM]

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