Two employees at North Country Hospital in Newport, Vt., accessed patient records inappropriately, causing the hospital's second data breach in four months, according to a WCAX report.
Prior to this breach, the hospital's employees were on an honors system to only view patient records as necessary for their job functions. The infraction was discovered when CMS compliance auditors made an unannounced visit. A citation was issued to the hospital has compelled North Country to install an automated auditing system to discover this type of breach, set to be operational by Feb. 15, according to the report.
An employee's actions were also the cause of another recent data breach at the hospital. In November, North Country officials reported a former employee had unauthorized possession of a laptop containing patient information. Despite the involvement of law enforcement agencies, the hospital was unable to recover the laptop, and opted to disclose the breach per HHS regulations.
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