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Regulator-posted notice

Breach notice filed by Dignity Health (May 2018)

Organization named: Dignity Health Provisional: identity as filed, not yet matched to the directory
Type as the source lists it: Unauthorized Access/Disclosure

What the sources say

HHS OCR breach portal (HIPAA breaches affecting 500 or more individuals) Primary notice

Posted on the HHS Office for Civil Rights breach portal with a submission date of May 31, 2018.

Organization as reported
Dignity Health, CA
Entity type as reported
Healthcare Provider
Category as reported
Unauthorized Access/Disclosure
Location of information as reported
Email
Submission date
May 31, 2018
Observed by BreachRecords
2026-10-18 16:15 UTC (revision 13799, row:4938)
Archived copy
Held in the private archive (provenance)

During a mass emailing of patient notifications in April 2018, Dignity Health, the covered entity (CE), used an email list incorrectly formatted by its business associate (BA), causing 55,947 individuals to receive an email intended for another individual. The protected health information (PHI) included the intended email recipient’s first name, last name, and physician name. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals, and the media. OCR obtained assurances that the CE took voluntary corrective actions, including eliminating its use of personalized greetings in mass patient communications, updating its policies and procedures related to email communications, and designating one individual to review and approve all mass communication projects prior to transmittal.

The source's own words, from the revision above.

Figures, per source

  • 55,947 individuals affected (total reported), according to the HHS Office for Civil Rights breach portal, source date May 31, 2018, revision observed 2026-10-18.

Each figure is one source's figure with the basis that source gave. Figures from different sources are shown side by side and are not added, averaged or chosen between.

Timeline

Source dates are the dates the sources give. Observation dates are when BreachRecords recorded each revision.

  • Submission date (HHS Office for Civil Rights breach portal)
  • Observed by BreachRecords (revision 13799)
  • Approved by a reviewer

Organizations linked by a reviewer

  • Dignity Health Named as the covered entity Provisional: identity as filed, not yet matched to the directory Linked 2026-10-19, method provisional.

Archived evidence

  • 3dbc27dd5742e041cc1e7fe18cc669e2901fbd3b86b7007ed27948ff4d406e1f
    text/csv, 5,530,996 bytes, retrieved from HHS Office for Civil Rights breach portal, 2026-10-18 16:15 UTC. Archived privately · Provenance · Source page

Records reflect source filings as of the dates shown. BreachRecords is not a regulator.

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