Regulator-posted notice

Breach notice filed by Houston Methodist Hospital (March 2017)

Organization named: Houston Methodist Hospital 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 March 17, 2017.

Organization as reported: Houston Methodist Hospital, TX
Entity type as reported: Healthcare Provider
Category as reported: Unauthorized Access/Disclosure
Location of information as reported: Email
Submission date: March 17, 2017
Observed by BreachRecords: 2026-10-18 16:15 UTC (revision 14239, row:5378)
Archived copy: Held in the private archive (provenance)

A workforce member erroneously sent an email disclosing the protected health information (PHI) of 1,417 patients to other patients listed on the email. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals, and the media. In response to the incident, the CE implemented an additional technical safeguard to prevent similar situations and re-trained its workforce members on the proper use of email when communicating with patients. OCR obtained assurances that the CE implemented the corrective actions noted above.
The source's own words, from the revision above.

Figures, per source

1,417 individuals affected (total reported), according to the HHS Office for Civil Rights breach portal, source date March 17, 2017, 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.

2017-03-17Submission date (HHS Office for Civil Rights breach portal)
2026-10-18Observed by BreachRecords (revision 14239)
2026-10-19Approved by a reviewer

Organizations linked by a reviewer

Houston Methodist Hospital 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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