Hawai`i Health Systems Corporation (“HHSC”) is committed to protecting the security and confidentiality of our patients’ information. Regrettably, this notice is to inform our patients of an incident involving some of that information.
HHSC contracts with the Civil Recovery Division within the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General (“CRD”) to perform certain billing collections services. On December 24, 2018, HHSC learned that CRD had included certain patient information related to billing in publicly available court filings. These filings are part of legal matters seeking to collect payment for services provided to patients at HHSC facilities and included patient names, ages, treatment information, HHSC medical record numbers, and patient phone numbers. No social security numbers or financial information were included in the filings.
This incident did not affect all HHSC patients; only certain patients who were the subject of legal action to recover payment for services received at HHSC.
We have no indication that any patient information has been further disclosed or misused. However out of an abundance of caution, we mailed letters to the affected patients on February 19, 2019, and have established a dedicated call center to answer any questions our patients may have. If you believe you were affected by the incident and do not receive a letter by March 24, 2019, please call 1-877-734-5453, Monday through Friday, 4:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Hawaii time. We recommend that the affected patient review the statements they receive from their health care providers. If they see charges for services they did not receive, they should contact the provider immediately.
We deeply regret any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause our patients. To help prevent something like this from happening in the future, HHSC is in the process of obtaining the court’s approval to redact the information filed so that it is not publicly available.