Billing mix-up exposes PHI of 722 patients in Nebraska

Patients of Lincoln Pulmonary & Critical Care in Lincoln, Nebraska, may have had personal and billing information exposed in a mailing mix-up, the Lincoln-based Journal Star reports.

The Lincoln-based medical center uses Pulse Systems, a Missouri-based medical billing company, which issued a notice of a HIPAA breach in September, explaining that patients from Lincoln Pulmonary & Critical Care received bills with information from other patients sent after July 27. The notice was published in the Journal Star and stated that patient names and procedure information were exposed in the mix-up.

According to the breach report filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, 722 patients were affected. Pulse Systems also stated in the notice that it had updated technology to ensure a similar mistake does not occur again.