Employee at Carolina Digestive Health Associates steals PHI

Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolina Digestive Health Associates began notifying about 100 patients after it learned an employee stole their personal information — including Social Security numbers, dates of birth and names — and shared it with fraud suspects, according to wsoctv.com.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department contacted CDHA in January after police discovered the employee unlawfully obtained the information. CDHA terminated the employee and launched its own investigation into the incident; however, the police department asked CDHA to refrain from notifying the affected individuals to not impede in its probe.

Police said one of the people the former employee shared data via text with is Demonte Withers, who has been under federal investigation for nearly a year over a suspected identity theft ring operating in the Charlotte area, wsoctv.com reports. Mr. Withers was arrested in June after a search of his apartment revealed drugs, guns and equipment used to make fake identification cards and fraudulent credit cards.

Becker's ASC Review reached out to Carolina Digestive Health Associates for comment. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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63% of Americans more concerned about cybersecurity than a potential war, survey finds
Healthcare — The only industry where insider threats outnumber external threats

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