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Merkle Direct Marketing

ArchivedSubmitted 01/11/2010
State
MD
Covered entity type
Business Associate
Individuals affected
15,000
Business associate present
Yes
Type of breach
Theft
Location of breached information
Paper/Films
First seen by InfoSec Signals
9/23/2026
Last seen in OCR export
9/23/2026

OCR description

The covered entity's (CE) business associate (BA) mailed protected health information (PHI) of approximately 15,000 individuals to incorrect addresses due to an error in its quarterly address update process. The mailing contained demographic information, explanations of benefits, clinical information, and diagnoses. Upon discovery of the breach, the CE collected the returned mail and verified that it had not been delivered, and updated its HIPAA policies and procedures. Following OCR's investigation, the CE was able to recover all or nearly all of the misdirected envelopes.

Change history

  • 9/23/2026Added to OCR's archive list

Source: HHS OCR Breach Portal, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights about this source

Records are reproduced as published; entity names and figures are OCR's.

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