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 Oct. 2, 2015.
- Organization as reported
- Sentara Healthcare, VA
- Entity type as reported
- Healthcare Provider
- Category as reported
Theft
- Location of information as reported
- Other Portable Electronic Device
- Submission date
- Oct. 2, 2015
- Observed by BreachRecords
- 2026-10-18 16:15 UTC (revision 14698, row:5837)
- Archived copy
- Held in the private archive (provenance)
On or about August 14, 2015, two external computer hard drives were stolen from the covered entity's (CE) electrophysiology labs which contained the protected health information (PHI) of approximately 1,040 patients. The PHI consisted of patients' names, dates of birth, unique identification numbers and treatment information. In response to the breach, the CE immediately improved physical access control and security to the area where the hard drives were located and later eliminated the need for the external hard drives. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals, and the media. OCR reviewed the CE’s risk assessment and obtained assurances that the CE implemented the corrective actions listed above.