Danbury-based Western Connecticut Health Network began notifying an unknown number of patients Aug. 19 about a shipping incident that may have exposed their personal health information, according to the News Times.
"On June 21, WCHN learned that a box containing medical records that it had sent via the United States Postal Service to the Connecticut State Department of Public Health had broken open during shipping and its contents were damaged. WCHN had sent the box of medical records to the DPH on June 11 in accordance with its reporting requirements under Connecticut law," the health system said in a statement.
Upon learning that the package had broken open, WCHN immediately began working with USPS to retrieve the damaged box.
Patient information that was found on the medical records in the shipment included names, addresses, dates of birth, medical record numbers, provider names, medical record numbers, dates of diagnoses, diagnoses and diagnostic test information.
The health system said there is no evidence that any information in the shipment has been misused. WCHN is individually mailing affected patients "out of an abundance of caution."