Escondido

Personal Info of 1,300 Palomar Medical Center Patients Breached by Employee

According to Palomar Health, no patient medical information was transferred or viewed outside of the Palomar Health electronic medical record system.

Officials at Palomar Medical Center in Escondido said an employee inappropriately accessed the medical and personal records of more than 1,300 patients.

An investigation into the employee conducted by Palomar Health concluded that the employee accessed the personal information, including name, date of birth, gender, medical record number, diagnosis and reason for visit, treatment location, medications and allergies of 1,309 patients between February 10, 2016, and May 7, 2017.

Of the 1,309 patients, four had their health insurance information, financial data, social security and driver's license numbers accessed, Palomar Health said.

According to Palomar Health, no patient medical information was transferred or viewed outside of the Palomar Health electronic medical record system and there are no reports of any patient information being compromised.

Palomar Health said it is in the process of notifying all affected patients.

Anyone with questions can call (855) 553-3089 Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST, except on national holidays.

In response to the breach, Palomar Health said it is in the process of implementing increased audits of health record access and is providing additional patient privacy awareness training to all employees.

The employee at the center of the investigation is no longer with Palomar Health.

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