A peculiar data breach at STAT Informatics Solutions, LLC in Waupaca, WI affected lots of healthcare organizations. STAT is the provider of secure medical records services to a couple of healthcare organizations. The services include scanning and saving of paper files in the medical record systems.
On March 3, 2020, a tornado struck a STAT center located in Lebanon, TN. This caused the sizeable ruin of the building as well as a section of the records retained in the property. STAT sent notifications to all affected clients immediately and personnel from those healthcare organizations visited the area to help find and keep the medical records safe within the building.
To regulate the probability of unauthorized access, STAT built a high fence around the perimeter of the building as they find and secure the medical documents. To keep unauthorized persons from going into the building, two security guards were designated to be on site round the clock.
The majority of the medical documents were acquired from what was left of the building, nevertheless the records were determined to be useless and were safely disposed of.
Although it’s likely that unauthorized individuals have viewed some paperwork connected with patients, there’s no proof that there was unauthorized access. STAT is convinced that patients would have no risk of financial harm. However, as a safety provision, patients whose medical records were kept in the building received breach notification via mail and will have credit monitoring services for free.
The medical records stashed at the STAT center included different types of information such as complete names, birth dates, addresses, Social Security numbers, medical record numbers, nursing and doctor notes, medical photos, diagnoses, laboratory test data, prescribed medications, account numbers, and other information typically listed in medical records.
The healthcare businesses that affirmed being affected by the occurrence are the following:
- Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, MO (1,619 records)
- Commonwealth Health Moses Taylor Hospital, PA (1,905 records)
- Commonwealth Health Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, PA (518 records)
- Bayfront Health Port Charlotte, FL
- Bayfront Health Punta Gorda, FL