Douglas County Data Breach
SUPERIOR, Wisc. – Unauthorized access of HIPAA-protected information by county employee, largely flies under the radar.
Six-months after the Douglas County Department of Health and Human Services determined an employee had accessed protected personal and health information without authorization, a notice appeared on the county’s website.
The one-page statement states the employee was terminated, and that the Superior Police Department and the State of Wisconsin conducted an investigation into the breach.
Information including social security numbers, health plan information, medical diagnoses, and even vehicle identifiers, may have been accessed during any point between August of 2022, and when the breach was discovered on May 13, 2024.
The department states it sent notice letters to people who were potentially exposed in the breach; but only to those who department “had identifiable home address information” for.
Anna Carlson, the department’s director, declined a sit-down interview, but speaking over the phone, Carlson said the department followed all state and federal guidelines when responding to the incident.
The Department of Health and Human Services plays a central, and multifaceted, role in the health and wellbeing of the county’s over 44,000 residents. Carlson said the department sent out 316 notice letters, following the breach.
When asked how residents would know if their information was exposed in the breach, without receiving a letter or visiting the website, Carlson reiterated that the department followed all the required guidelines.
Our questions regarding any criminal investigation into the employee’s actions were directed to the Superior Police Department.
Chief of Police, Paul Winterscheidt, confirmed an investigation into unauthorized access of HIPAA information, began June 13, 2024. The investigation found that while HIPAA-protected information was access, it was likely not disseminated beyond the employee. The county prosecutor did not peruse charges following the investigation.
