A hospital employee inadvertently attached a file to a patient email that exposed the data of thousands of other patients.
Winter Haven (Fla.) Hospital said it began notifying patients in May whose information was included in the email. The hospital told HHS that 2,101 individuals were affected.
On March 15, the staffer accidentally attached a cardiac rehabilitation department file in an email to a patient, according to the hospital. The employee caught the mistake and notified the patient, who promised to delete the file. It contained patients' names and contact information, as well as data on their cardiac rehab treatment.
The hospital said it has since implemented additional security access when sending this type of file.