TriPoint suffers info breach

The obstetrics department at Lake Health’s TriPoint Medical Center recently suffered a breach of about 750 OB patients’ protected health information.

According to a Lake Health news release, no Social Security numbers or patient financial information was compromised.

In June a log book maintained with limited but protected patient health information for Lake Health’s OB patients went missing. The same day, Lake Health representatives launched an internal investigation, the release also states.

The missing OB log book contained information about deliveries. The Ohio Department of Health requires all obstetrics departments to keep a delivery log book. Further, Lake Health maintains secure digital copies of the log book.

Although, no patient financial information, such as Social Security numbers, credit card information or insurance information, was lost, Lake Health is providing a free identity protection program for patients affected by this incident and will be sending them enrollment information as a precaution.

An investigation and risk assessment was completed to ensure the security and privacy of patients’ health information.

Additionally, Lake Health has retrained employees in its OB department, updated its policies and procedures, and converted log books to a secure electronic format.

“We deeply regret this has occurred,” said Marketing and Business Development Senior Vice President Richard D. Cicero. “The privacy and security of our patients’ personal information is of the utmost importance to Lake Health. Our health system is committed to ensuring that privacy and security. We have rigorous processes and procedures in place to detect breaches of patients’ rights and to protect patients in the event of a breach.”

Each individual affected by this incident has been notified.

For more information about this breach, call Lake Health’s Privacy Officer at 440-375-8959.