Western Connecticut Health Network is addressing a privacy incident involving information pertaining to some of its patients.
On June 21, WCHN ”“ now known as Nuvance Health ”“ learned that a box containing medical records that it had sent via the U.S. Postal Service to the Connecticut State Department of Public Health (DPH) had broken open during shipping and its contents were damaged. WCHN had sent the box of medical records to the DPH on June 11, in accordance with its reporting requirements under Connecticut law.
The box was returned by the USPS to WCHN on July 9. The network ”“ whose hospitals include Danbury and Norwalk ”“ said it “has no indication that the box of medical records ever left USPS custody until it was returned to WCHN.”
The group’s examination determined that the box contained reports for some WCHN patients, which included patient names, addresses, dates of birth, medical record numbers, provider names, medical record numbers, dates of diagnosis, diagnoses, and diagnostic test information.
“WCHN has no evidence that any information that was in the damaged box has been misused,” according to a statement by the network. “However, out of an abundance of caution, WCHN will begin mailing notification letters to potentially affected patients on Aug. 19, and has established a dedicated incident response line to answer any questions.”
The network advises patients who believe they may be affected by the incident, but did not receive a letter by Aug. 30, to call 833-762-0225, Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
