Oklahoma Heart Hospital Provides Notice of Privacy Incident

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Although unaware of any actual or attempted access or misuse of patient information, Oklahoma Heart Hospital ("OHH") is providing notice to certain patients of an incident involving limited patient information. 

On May 13, 2021, OHH became aware that handwritten notes containing information for a limited number of OHH patients had been mistakenly donated to charity by a former employee. The notes were created by the former OHH employee during the course of that individual's employment from 2011 to 2014 and had been erroneously donated along with other personal items. OHH was made aware of the notes when an individual located the items and contacted OHH. OHH promptly regained possession of the notes.

Upon learning of the incident, OHH immediately began an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the impacted patient information. OHH's investigation revealed that the donations were made in May 2021, shortly before OHH was contacted by the individual who initially found the handwritten notes. OHH immediately undertook efforts to collect and catalog all of the notes in order to identify potentially affected patients. OHH determined, through its investigation, that the information potentially at risk included a limited number of OHH patients' names, medical record numbers, OHH visit numbers, dates of birth, ages, admit dates, genders, and clinical information consisting of diagnosis, lab results, medications and/or treatment information.

No OHH medical records were involved, and OHH's patient record systems remain secure. While OHH does not have any evidence of misuse of the patient information, in an abundance of caution, OHH is mailing notice to those impacted by this incident on July 12, 2021. The notification letters include information about the event and steps that can be taken to safeguard one's information. Specifically, OHH encourages impacted patients to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing their account statements and explanations of benefits for suspicious or anomalous activity. Any suspicious activity should be promptly reported to the appropriate provider, insurer, or financial institution.

OHH has established a dedicated call center for individuals to contact with questions or concerns.  This dedicated call center can be reached at 1-833-468-1010 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding national holidays. Individuals may also visit https://www.okheart.com/ for more information.

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SOURCE Oklahoma Heart