University sends prescription information on postcards

The University of Wisconsin Madison (UW-Madison) is the second organization in recent months to fall afoul of HIPAA by sending patients mailings that left their protected health information (PHI) visible.

UW-Madison’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health mailed postcards on July 10 asking patients to participate in a quality improvement survey, the university said in a September 7 statement. The postcards contained patient’s names and addresses and referred to specific prescription medications and family planning services the patients received. No other PHI or identity information was included on the postcards.

The university is mailing letters to affected individuals. UW-Madison patients who believe they may have been affected but do not receive a notification letter by September 15 can call 1-800-939-4170 or email hipaa@wisc.edu.

In August, more than 10,000 individuals were impacted when Aetna, Inc., based in Hartford, Connecticut, sent HIV prescription information in envelopes with a large, plastic window that left PHI, including HIV status, visible.