Aventura (Fla.) Hospital and Medical Center has reported a data breach after an employee from one of the hospital's business associates may have improperly accessed the personal information of 82,601 patients, according to a Local 10 report.
Valesco Ventures, which provides hospital physician staffing and related services, notified Aventura Hospital and Medical Center that one of its employees potentially accessed patient names, birth dates and Social Security numbers between Sept. 13, 2012 and June 9, 2014.
The hospital has suspended the suspected employee's computer and physical access to patient data. The organizations continue to work with law enforcement in an investigation "to identify and prosecute all responsible parties," according to a legal notice.
This is the third data breach in two years that the hospital has reported to HHS. In January 2013, Aventura Hospital and Medical Center reported a breach affecting approximately 2,500 patients after protected health information was stolen from the EMR. The hospital suffered an earlier breach from October through December 2012 that affected 948 people.
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