Former UPMC employee charged with wrongfully disclosing PHI

Jessica Kim Cohen -

A federal grand jury in Pittsburg indicted a former employee of UPMC and Allegheny Health Network, both based in Pittsburgh, on six counts of wrongfully obtaining and disclosing protected health information, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady announced June 29.

The six-count indictment, returned on June 28, charged Linda Sue Kalina, 61, with wrongfully obtaining the PHI of 111 patients in violation of HIPAA between March 30, 2016, and August 14, 2017, while employed as a patient information coordinator by UPMC and then by the Allegheny Health Network.

The indictment also accused Ms. Kalina of wrongfully disclosing the PHI of three individuals "with the intent to cause malicious harm" on four occasions between December 30, 2016, and August 11, 2017.

The case fell under FBI jurisdiction.

Ms. Kalina faces up to 11 years in prison and a maximum fine of $350,000 if found guilty, according to a June 29 statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Western District of Pennsylvania.

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