By Terry James
NORMAL – Advocate Health Care is paying a hefty fine to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Advocate has been found in violation of the HIPAA act and is being told to pay $5.5 million dollars in fines. That is reportedly the largest fine ever paid by one company for the violation of a patient’s privacy.
The investigation stretches back to 2013 when laptops with patient information were stolen from a Park Ridge, Illinois office. Private information from four million patients were affected by the breach.
Advocate Medical Group is headquartered in Chicago, with some offices in the Bloomington-Normal area. Advocate insists none of the breached data has been used against patients.
Terry James can be reached at terry@wjbc.com.
