The Kroger Co., for itself and its affiliates and subsidiaries

The covered entity (CE), The Kroger Company, on behalf of Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Kroger, reported that an employee improperly disposed of protected health information (PHI). This breach affected approximately 2,752 individuals and the PHI involved included names, dates of birth, addresses, diagnoses/conditions, and medication information. The CE notified HHS, affected individuals, the media, and provided substitute notice. In its mitigation efforts, the CE sanctioned the responsible employee and manager. Employees were also re-trained on the proper disposal of PHI as well as record retention policies in accordance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. OCR obtained assurances that the CE implemented the corrective actions noted.