The Henry Ford Health System in Michigan has reported its fourth HIPAA privacy breach in four years.
On May 24, 2013, hospital x-ray films stored in an off-site warehouse were stolen. X-rays are desirable to thieves who harvest the silver contained in the film.
It is reported that the Health System notified 15,416 patients of the incident, which included x-rays from 1996 to 2003. The x-rays included patient name, medical record number, age, date of birth, gender, and where the x-ray was taken.
While the breach of information may not directly cause financial harm to the impacted individuals, the strengthening of the HIPAA rules requires notification under the circumstances. This is a reminder to all companies of the importance of keeping health information secure and protected.