Security breach affects drug data for Bailey’s Health Center patients
The patient information that was improperly accessed included patients’
names, addresses, social security numbers, and pharmacy identification
numbers; the names and dosages of their medications; payment
information; the names and addresses of prescribers.
The Bailey’s Center, 6196 Arlington Blvd. in Seven Corners, is one of three centers in the Fairfax County Community Health Care Network, a partnership of physicians, health care professionals, and the county that provides primary health services to low-income people.
A Dec. 11 letter to Bailey’s Health Center patients from Fairfax County Director of Health Gloria Addo-Ayensu says the breach was discovered Oct. 24.
The county contracts with Molina Healthcare Inc. to manage the Bailey’s Health Center, and Molina subcontracts with Health Business Systems Inc. (HBS) to maintain a pharmacy database and provide prescription services. On Oct. 18, the letter states, HBS notified Molina that “a computer file containing pharmaceutical records on 1,499 patients was inadvertently left on an unsecured computer server and accessed by three separate entities on four occasions” between Sept. 9 and Oct. 3. “The breach was discovered through a routine forensic audit performed by HBS.”
The Health Department has advised affected clients to take precautions, such as setting up fraud alerts and taking advantage of a free credit monitoring service.
