ARTESIA — Artesia General Hospital (AGH) is notifying its patients that it has begun mailing notification letters to individuals whose personal information may have been involved in a recent privacy incident.
On Nov. 27, 2023, AGH learned that one of its employees had taken home a limited number of documents containing patient information, not including financial or insurance information or patients’ full medical records. The information included patients’ names, dates of birth, AGH account numbers and medical record numbers, and diagnoses related to 2022 visits to the AGH emergency room.
The documents may have been accessed by a member of the employee’s family. AGH says it has no reason to believe that any of the information was misused and is confident that all documents involved have been returned to AGH.
AGH is mailing notification letters to patients whose information ws contained in the documents in question and recommends that notified individuals review all statements they receive related to their health care. If individuals identify charges for services they did not receive, they should contact their health-care provider immediately.
“AGH regrets any concern or inconvenience this incident may cause,” the hospital said in a release issued Friday, “and remains committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of patient information. To help prevent something like this from happening in the future, AGH has reinforced education with its staff on AGH policies and best practices regarding paper records.”
Individuals with questions regarding the incident may contact AGH at 833-770-2800 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. MT, Monday through Friday.
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