The Utah Department of Health is notifying approximately 6,000 Medicaid patients that some of their personal information was misplaced by a third-party contractor, Goold Health Systems, when an employee misplaced a USB device while traveling.
This is the UDOH's second data breach in less than a year. In April, the department experienced a data breach that affected nearly 800,000 individuals when hackers compromised its server system.
In this breach, an employee saved personal health information on an unencrypted, portable USB memory device and left the UDOH with that device, in violation of the department's policy. The personal information lost includes but is not limited to the Medicaid recipient's name, Medicaid identification number, age and recent prescription drug use history, according to the release.
The department is taking steps to prevent the potential fraudulent use of the affected Medicaid identification numbers. The Office of the Inspector General for Medicaid Services has been alerted to the situation and will also be monitoring for suspicious activity.
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This is the UDOH's second data breach in less than a year. In April, the department experienced a data breach that affected nearly 800,000 individuals when hackers compromised its server system.
In this breach, an employee saved personal health information on an unencrypted, portable USB memory device and left the UDOH with that device, in violation of the department's policy. The personal information lost includes but is not limited to the Medicaid recipient's name, Medicaid identification number, age and recent prescription drug use history, according to the release.
The department is taking steps to prevent the potential fraudulent use of the affected Medicaid identification numbers. The Office of the Inspector General for Medicaid Services has been alerted to the situation and will also be monitoring for suspicious activity.
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