Personal health information of nearly 2,900 Queen’s patients sent to wrong email address

An employee sent an email containing personal health information for 2,852 patients of The Queen’s Medical Center and Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital to the wrong address on Feb. 3, Queen’s officials announced today.

No Social Security numbers or financial account information was included, so patients’ financial security is not at risk, according to the Queen’s Health Systems.

The company sent letters to the affected patients on Thursday and has set up a hotline.

“We take the privacy and confidentiality of our patients’ information very seriously and deeply regret the concern and inconvenience this situation may cause,” said Harold Moscho, vice president of information technology and chief information officer. “There is no indication that the information has been or will be misused.”

The email sent to the wrong address by an employee included an attachment with information on 2,852 patients who had been seen since June 1, 2019, according to a news release from Queens.

Information included the patient name, account number, health plan ID, admission date, discharge date and “limited information related to the patients’ care.” Diagnoses were included for 300 individuals.

The error was discovered the day after the email was sent, but efforts to contact the individual and recall the message have not succeeded, according to Queens.

“The Queen’s Health Systems recommends that affected patients carefully review the statements they receive from their insurers and health care providers,” officials said in the news release. “If any services that were not provided to them are listed, they should contact the insurer or provider immediately.”

Patients with questions may call the hotline at (844) 904-0956, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.