Patient Privacy Incident

A Notice to Patients Regarding a Privacy Incident

January 3, 2025

Sidney Health Center (“SHC”) takes the privacy and security of patient information very seriously. Regrettably, this notice concerns a privacy incident involving certain patients’ information.

In late October, we received a report from an SHC employee regarding concerns that a physician may have been saving information about patients to his personal Google account. We immediately began investigating with the use of our privacy monitoring tools. On November 7, 2024, we determined that the physician was, in fact, saving information to his personal Google account. We continued our investigation, including interviewing the physician and requesting the destruction or return of all documents containing SHC patient information. Unfortunately, our efforts were not met with the necessary cooperation.

We reviewed the documents inappropriately saved by the physician and determined that certain documents contained patient information, including names, dates of birth, medical record numbers, medical history, and/or treatment information, such as dates of service, provider names, diagnoses, and medications. The documents did not contain Social Security numbers, health insurance ID numbers, or financial information.

In accordance with federal health information privacy laws, we are mailing notification letters to patients whose information was contained in the documents. The letters remind patients that it is always a good idea to carefully review communications they receive from healthcare providers, including electronic messages and billing statements to ensure they are consistent with expectations.

We sincerely regret any concern or inconvenience this incident may cause, and remain committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of patient information. To help prevent further unpermitted copying of patient information, we suspended the physician’s access to patient information unless accompanied by a supervisor during the pendency of our investigation. The physician no longer works for SHC, and we have reported his conduct to the appropriate individuals.

If you have questions regarding the incident, please call 1-833-468-1010, available Monday through Friday, between 6:00 am and 3:00 pm Mountain Time.