DCH Employee Fired For Improperly Accessing Patient Records

TUSCALOOSA, AL — DCH Health System on Thursday revealed that it has notified 2,530 individuals after an investigation found a hospital employee had accessed and viewed DCH patient electronic medical records between September 2021 and Dec. 9, 2022, without a legitimate business need related to the employee’s job duties.

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In a press release on Thursday regarding the matter, DCH said it was discovered during a routine privacy audit on Dec. 9, 2022, it was discovered that one of the hospital’s employed workforce members accessed the electronic medical records of a patient on Dec. 5, 2022 without an apparent business reason.

Hospital officials explained the information that may have been accessed and viewed without authorization by this employee contained the following data elements: name, address, date of birth, social security numbers, date of encounter, diagnoses, vital signs, medications, test results, and clinical/provider notes.

After the situation was discovered, DCH Health System says it suspended the employee and terminated their access to all medical records and other information systems.

The individual's employment with the hospital system was also terminated one business day after the initial discovery.

What's more, DCH Health System says it has engaged a data breach recovery expert and established all required and necessary communications to the affected patients and regulatory officials.

"All affected patients have been notified by mail about this incident," the Tuscaloosa-based healthcare provider said. "DCH Health System has no reason to believe that the information was or will be further used or disclosed; however, out of an abundance of caution, free identity theft protection services, including credit monitoring, were offered to all patients whose insurance group and subscriber/policy numbers may have been involved."

DCH went on to day that notices were mailed to the affected patients or their personal representatives on Jan. 17.

Those who have not received a letter in the mail but would like to know if their information was affected, can contact DCH at (855) 624-6814. This number will be operational between Jan. 17-April 17.

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