Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States has reported an employee inappropriately accessed members' radiology records from 2012 to 2020.
"We recently learned that a former employee inappropriately accessed the radiology records of members who were patients in our radiology departments. Based on an investigation, we determined that the former employee's access was outside the scope of her job functions," the system said in a statement to Becker's.
The health system reported the breach to HHS on May 22 and has also begun notifying the 2,756 affected patients. Kaiser Permanente said in the statement that there is no evidence that the information was used to commit fraud or other criminal activities.
"When we learned about the inappropriate access in late March, the former employee, a radiology department imaging technician, was immediately placed on administrative leave while an investigation was conducted. The employee has now been terminated," the health system's statement reads. Any members with questions or concerns should contact the system's member services department at 1-800-777-7904.
Kaiser Permanente is based in Oakland, Calif., and includes 39 hospitals as well as 714 medical offices. The system has 12.4 million members.