Hospital Slapped with Second Six-Figure Fine for Records Breach in Two Months

Four patients and eight employees were involved in the April, investigators say. One patient's records were examined by six employees. August says there is no indication that the employees were acting out of anything more sinister than curiosity. After the first breach, KP Bellflower notified Suleman and state investigators, fired 14 employees, and reprimanded eight employees.

In an unrelated matter, but also taking place in the Golden State, letters have been sent to about 30,000 patients at the University of California San Diego's Moores Cancer Center after a hacker accessed patients' personal files, the center says. UCSD officials say the hacker accessed personal data, including names, birth dates, and medical records numbers, but that personal medical record information, Social Security numbers, and driver's license and financial information were not breached. The breach occurred in late June, and the letters were sent out last week.

The hospital blamed the Internet-based attack on "highly skilled individuals living overseas."