University of Tennessee Medical Center Warns 8K Patients About Possible Data Breach

Tags: data breach | improper disposal | UT Medical Center

Officials from the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Tenn., are notifying approximately 8,000 patients that the facility did not properly dispose of hospital reports containing private information, posing potential risk of a privacy data breach, according to a Knox News report.

In early October, the hospital was notified that records containing private patient information were disposed without proper shredding and were instead discarded in the hospital's waste stream.

UT Medical Center officials say there is no reason to believe any patient information was disclosed, used or access inappropriately, and patient-related information likely became unreadable during the hospital's waste management process post-disposal.

The hospital has corrected the disposal process and is taking extra measures to ensure the proper disposal of patient information, including retraining of employees and sanctions against involved hospital staff members, according to the report.

Read the Knox News report about the UT Medical Center's improper disposal of patient information.

Read other coverage about data breaches:

- Florida Insurers AvMed Health Plans Sued for Data Breach Affecting 1.2M Patients

- Data Breaches Cost U.S. Hospitals $6B Annually

- Indiana Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against WellPoint Over Data Breach

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