An employee working at a University of Florida (UF) medical practice who had ties to an identity theft ring may have compromised patient personal and health information, according to UF officials.
UF is notifying 5,682 patients and parents of patients at the UF Pediatric Primary Care Clinic at Tower Square that they should take appropriate measures to protect themselves from identity theft. UF is offering fraud resolution services for those who suspect or confirm identity theft associated with this incident; the fraud service offer is good for one year.
“We deeply regret what happened and share the frustration associated with this situation,” Susan Blair, chief privacy officer for the University of Florida, said in a statement. “Protecting patient information is a top priority for us, and we are committed to finding new ways to identify and help prevent employee misconduct.”
The Office of the State Attorney, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Secret Service are continuing to investigate a statewide identity theft ring. The university learned of the alleged incident from state and federal law enforcement officials on April 11. The employee may have used pediatric patient records to steal personal information including names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers. The employee was terminated, and law enforcement is taking action against the individual.
After notification from the Secret Service, UF cooperated with law enforcement and conducted a separate investigation about the use of patient records. This review determined that some patient records were accessed inappropriately. But because the employee also was assigned to access records as part of their job responsibilities, it was not possible to determine whether the information was misused.
The letters sent to parents and patients include information about the incident, steps they can take to protect themselves, information about identity monitoring services and steps recommended by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission about checking credit reports.
