Beebe Healthcare in Lewes, Del., is notifying approximately 1,900 patients that a temporary contractor with a criminal record of identity theft had access to their personal and health information.
In late December, Beebe officials learned a temporary contractor hired through a staffing agency had been arrested four years prior for an incident involving identity theft. The contractor's engagement was terminated, and Beebe officials launched an investigation to discover the extent of the contractor's access to patient information and any potential wrongdoing. Although the investigation turned up no evidence that patient information had been misused, the health system is notifying potentially affected patients as a precaution.
"We deeply regret any inconvenience this has caused our patients," according to a Beebe statement. "To prevent this from happening in the future, we are performing our own background checks of all staffing agency employees and will no longer rely on staffing agencies to do so."
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