A Springfield, Ohio man's Thanksgiving trip to a public recycling center was routine until he stumbled across hundreds of medical records — containing private health information and Social Security numbers — sitting in plain sight, according to WDTN.
The records belonged to Community Mercy Health Partners and after an investigation the organization determined one of its vendors was responsible for their unlawful disposal in a recycling dumpster, according to a statement from CMHP.
The records did not affect all CMHP patients and may have included names, health insurance data, clinical information and Social Security and driver's license numbers. CMHP has established a call center for patients who have questions about the breach and has taken steps to re-inventory all locations where documents are stored and retrained contractors on privacy requirements.