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 July 28, 2015.
- Organization as reported
- The McLean Hospital Corporation, MA
- Entity type as reported
- Healthcare Provider
- Category as reported
Loss
- Location of information as reported
- Other Portable Electronic Device
- Submission date
- July 28, 2015
- Observed by BreachRecords
- 2026-10-18 16:15 UTC (revision 14745, row:5884)
- Archived copy
- Held in the private archive (provenance)
An employee of the Brain Tissue Research Center within McLean Hospital Corporation’s Department of Neuroscience (the Brain Bank) failed to return four backup tapes in her possession after she was terminated affecting approximately 12,673 individuals. The types of electronic protected health information (ePHI) involved included names, addresses, dates of birth, dates of death, intake diagnoses, family medical histories, and social security numbers. Following this incident, the covered entity (CE) retrained staff on privacy and security. OCR obtained written assurances that the CE has encrypted all backup tapes used by the Brain Bank and that it revised and enhanced ePHI backup procedures. OCR is also aware that the CE entered into a consent judgment with required corrective action with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.