Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1141789
48 CIO / HEALTH IT Penn Medicine employee 'misused' a patient's information, hospital privacy chief says By Mackenzie Garrity P hiladelphia-based Penn Medicine alerted around 900 patients that their information may have been improperly viewed by a former medical assistant at the hospital, according to The Inquirer. Penn Medicine's Chief Privacy Officer Lauren Steinfeld said the medical assistant was a contract employee who worked at the hospital between February and late April. It is unclear which department the employee had worked for. The hospital became aware that the employee was viewing patient records "without a work-related rea- son," on April 29, Ms. Steinfeld said. Information that may have been exposed included demographic and clinical information. A limited number of Social Security numbers may have also been viewed. In one case, a patient's information was "misused," Ms. Steinfeld confirmed. However, it is unclear how the in- formation had been used. Penn Medicine is evaluating its staffing agencies and contractors "to ensure that contract employees meet and maintain our high professional standards," Ms. Steinfeld said. n Quest Diagnostics vendor data breach exposes 11.9 million patients: 5 things to know By Mackenzie Garrity Q uest Diagnostics notified 11.9 million patients of a data breach that happened at one of its billing collec- tions vendors, according to The Wall Street Journal. Five things to know: 1. American Medical Collection Agency alerted Quest Diag- nostics on May 14 of a data breach within the billing compa- ny's web payment system. Quest outsourced its billing opera- tions to Optum360, which contracted AMCA. 2. The data breach affected patients' financial information, in- cluding credit card numbers and bank account information. Some medical information and personal data may have also been affected. Quest Diagnostic confirmed no laboratory re- sults were affected in the breach. 3. An investigation found that between August 2018 and March 2019 an unauthorized user gained access to AMCA's system. The hacker was able to gain access to information from AMCA's clients, such as Quest Diagnostics. 4. Quest Diagnostics is conducting its own investigation into the incident to determine the scope of the information AMCA had access to. 5. Quest Diagnostics has suspended collection requests from AMCA and notified the health plans that may have been af- fected. The company is also working with law enforcement to evaluate the impact the data breach will have on Quest Diagnostics and patients. n Cerner unveils near-site health network: 3 things to know By Jackie Drees C erner launched its new near-site health network, Anuva Health, which aims to combine in-person and virtu- al care services for organizations to offer to their employees at lower costs. e company opened Anuva Health's first facility May 16 in Malvern, Pa. e center is available to Cerner associates and local em- ployers. ree things to know: 1. Anuva Health provides primary care, ur- gent care, lab work and pharmacy services, among other services. Its virtual healthcare offerings include care management, behav- ioral health and health navigation. 2. e near-site model is designed to share the investment between a group of employers, with similar benefits to on-site healthcare centers. "Anuva Health is our latest innovation in workforce health management, expanding our onsite health center offering by launch- ing an intelligent near-site health network designed around the person," Cerner Popu- lation Health Services Vice President Mike Heckman said in a news release. "Close, convenient access to healthcare brings ben- efits for both the employees and employers, supporting the improvement of overall health and minimizing costs." 3. Cerner plans to open a second Anuva Health location in West Chester, Pa., later this year. n