Major hospital warns patients of data theft by employee
Major hospital warns patients of data theft by employee
Broward Health is the latest local health system to warn patients about a major data breach.
The public hospital system sent letters to 960 patients warning them that a former employee at Broward Health Medical Center stole their personal information between October and December 2012. Often, identity theft is used to facilitate tax refund fraud, a crime that has landed dozens of people in South Florida under indictment.
Broward Health has been working with local and federal law enforcement on this case since June 2013.
“Broward Health is strengthening procedures surrounding the protection of personal information and re-educating staff members,” it stated in a news release. “The hospital system has completed an internal investigation and is reviewing and enhancing safeguards to better ensure the security of patient information.”
Holy Cross Hospital, Jackson Health System, Boca Raton Regional Hospital and South Miami Hospital have all recently reported data breaches by former employees.
Identity theft from health care providers has been near epidemic levels in South Florida, as covered by a Business Journal feature story in April. More than 1.4 million patient records in South Florida have been impacted since 2009, according to federal records.
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