Esther V. Rettig, M.D., P.A.

Esther V. Rettig, M.D., P.A., the covered entity (CE), reported that an employee was the victim of an email phishing scheme affecting approximately 13,500 individuals. The protected health information (PHI) involved included names, dates of birth, addresses, drivers’ license information, Social Security numbers, claims information, clinical information, lab results, diagnoses/conditions and medications prescribed. The CE notified HHS, affected individuals, the media, and local law enforcement. In its mitigation efforts, the CE implemented administrative, technical, and security safeguards to better protect its sensitive data. The CE also retrained its staff on the proper methods of identifying fraudulent email communications. OCR obtained assurances that the CE implemented the corrective actions noted.