Amedisys Home Health care center recovers private shredded materials

An Amedisys Home Health care center in Fayetteville, W.Va., notified patients of a recent information breach, after learning two bins of shredded materials did not reach their intended secure shredding facility, according to The Montgomery Herald.

The two bins were found behind a local business, according to The Montgomery Herald. Upon learning of the incident, Amedisys immediately recovered the materials. Amedisys worked with a document remediation company to restore and inventory the exposed information. The shredded documents contained medical information such as home care services provided and demographic information.

Amedisys believes this breach is an isolated incident, according to The Montgomery Herald. The company said there is no evidence documents were taken from the bins or that anyone discovered the bins behind the building, other than the people who contacted Amedisys.

Amedisys is providing identity theft protection to affected patients. Moving forward, the company is conducting a review of shred processes and policies at its own facilities, along with at the vendor it uses for secure document destruction and at the subcontractor it deploys, according to The Montgomery Herald.

"This is an unfortunate event that we have worked hard to prevent through our internal processes and through our selection of a responsible vendor to handle transportation and disposal of sensitive information," Amedisys said in a statement emailed to Becker's Hospital Review. "We take HIPAA compliance and patient privacy very seriously. Our top priority now — and always — is taking care of our patients and ensuring they receive the highest quality of care."

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