Health info may have been breached, says Arizona Department of Health
May 26, 2017, 5:59 PM | Updated: May 27, 2017, 9:43 am
(Photo via Newtown Grafitti/Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo via Newtown Grafitti/Flickr Creative Commons)
PHOENIX — Protected health information for approximately 2,500 might have been compromised, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) announced Friday.
The department said that two packages with billing documents were shipped last month to a billing company, but only one of the parcels was delivered. According to the United States Postal Service’s tracking system, the missing parcel was last identified as “in transit” but hasn’t been located since.
The possible compromise of information is for information collected in the Newborn Screening Program for billing purposes, according to a statement from the department. The information was on its way to Midwest Medical Practice Management Inc., a third-party billing company, and includes data like names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, and “possibly social security numbers,” a statement read.
The ADHS statement said the USPS considers a parcel lost once it has been missing for 30 days, which have now passed. The department notes that the information may not have been compromised, and the USPS has no record of the package being delivered to the wrong location.
The post office released a statement on Saturday morning.
“First and foremost, the Postal Service apologizes to all impacted customers of the Arizona Department of Health Services regarding this incident. It’s important to point out that we have been in regular contact with the Department of Health Services and continue to work diligently to locate this package.
“We value this agency’s business and are working to identify any agency preparation or postal processing issues involved to ensure an isolated incident like this does not occur again. The overwhelming majority of the more than 5 billion packages the Postal Service is entrusted to handle annually are delivered swiftly and accurately.”
The USPS and ADHS are still working to locate the files.
Individuals whose information might have been at risk are being contacted by mail. If you have questions, the ADHS is inviting you to contact them by phone at 1-800-548-8381 or email at WebPIO@azdhs.gov.
