Siemens Medical Solutions, USA, Inc

The covered entity's business associate (BA), Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., shipped seven unencrypted compact disks (CDs) that contained the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of 130,495 individuals to the covered entity (CE), Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center. The CD's, containing back-up data, were lost in transit. The ePHI included names, addresses, social security numbers, medical record numbers, health plan information, dates of birth, dates of admission and discharge, diagnostic and procedural codes, and driver's license numbers. The CE provided breach notification to affected individuals, HHS, and the media. Upon discovery of the breach, the CE directed the BA to cease using the shipping service as a means of transporting the CDs. As a result of OCR's investigation, the BA adopted a procedure to encrypt CDs. The CE also implemented a procedure for a senior employee of the BA to physically deliver the encrypted CDs to the CE. The breach incident involved a BA and occurred prior to the September 23, 2013, compliance date. OCR verified that the CE had a proper BA agreement in place that restricted the BA's use and disclosure of PHI and required the BA to safeguard all PHI.