Medical Center Confirms Breach Of Personal Information, Edmonson County Residents Affected

Darren Doyle, story:
Several Edmonson County residents among with thousands of other Medical Center Health patients received a letter this week from Med Center Health that stated a former employee "misused billing information without authorization, for purposes unrelated to work."

We've received several calls, emails, and messages regarding this letter, accompanied by many questions. The letter states that on January 2, 2017, a former Med Center employee obtained certain billing information by creating the appearance that they needed the info for their job duties at Med Center Health. The letter further states that Med Center contacted law enforcement immediately and continued their own investigation.

Med Center said that in August 2014 and February 2015 the individual obtained patient info on an encrypted CD and USB drive, for reasons unrelated to work. This information contained patients' names, addresses, social security numbers, health insurance information, diagnosis and procedure codes and charges for medical services.  However, the letter states that medical records were not included in the breach and remain intact. 

The Medical Center said they are contacting those affected now because law enforcement requested them to delay notification as to not interfere with their investigation.

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Med Center Health is providing those affected with a free, one year membership in "Family Secure" from "Experian" which is a credit monitoring service and can indicate signs if your identity is stolen. Med Center Health also recommends that those affected review the explanation of benefits from your health insurer.

We reached out the the Medical Center directly and asked the following questions, to which we received the answers below:

EV: Can you confirm that this is a legitimate issue and that the Medical Center in Bowling Green has authorized the letter as being true and accurate?
Yes
 
EV: Should the public be concerned?
Those who received letters should follow the instructions to take advantage of the free credit monitoring if they are concerned.
 
EV: What steps are the Medical Center taking to ensure this doesn't happen again?
To help prevent similar actions in the future, Med Center Health is re-enforcing education with their employees regarding its strict patient confidentiality policies and procedures and reviewing its internal controls.
 
EV: Is the former employee facing charges, if so, what are they and what law enforcement agency is handling the case?
This matter is being investigation by the FBI and other federal agencies.  We cannot comment on the current investigation.

If you or a family member have any further questions, Med Center Health has advised to contact their call center at 1-844-420-6490, M-F between 8am and 8pm central time.