If members of the public would like to speak to someone at Centura Health about the following situation, please call 303-765-6100, Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
DENVER, Colo. – (Jan. 30, 2009) - On Jan. 16, Centura Health learned that a man contacted Channel 9 saying that he had discovered approximately 150 of our patient records. As soon as Centura officials received information about the stolen records, Centura Legal Services contacted the Office for Civil Rights to notify them of the incident. Centura privacy officers have made attempts to contact every affected patient by phone, leaving messages and asking for a return phone call if the patient did not answer. A letter with detailed information is being sent to affected patient homes as well.
After an internal investigation, Centura officials discovered that one associate at St. Anthony Central Hospital had accessed the records in question through the electronic medical records system and had taken them outside the hospital. The associate has been terminated and we are cooperating with the Denver Police Department in their investigation.
Centura Health leadership deeply regrets that this has happened to some of our patients and takes this kind of incident very seriously. Each affected patient is being offered a free service with a company that offers a comprehensive package for identity protection. As each patient was contacted by phone, Centura privacy officers informed them about the identity protection offer. The letter being sent to affected patient homes explains the details of the identity protection package.
Protecting patients’ health and private information is a top priority for Centura Health and we do not tolerate violations of that trust. Centura has many preventive measures in place to ensure that such violations do not occur, but in the event they do, all appropriate legal, personnel and corrective actions are taken.
Centura Health performs background checks on all associates. All associates are also required to take training on their responsibility to protect the private health information of our patients. As a result of this incident, we will be increasing the number of patient medical record system audits we perform and intensifying our educational efforts in this area.
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