Are your medical records sitting on a fax machine in Indiana?
Doctors mistakenly fax patients’ data to Indiana company
Doctors continue to send information to wrong number
Doctors’ offices in Tennessee have been accidentally sending patient information, including Social Security numbers and medical histories, to an Indiana businessman’s fax machine for the past three years.
The sensitive medical information was supposed to be sent to the Tennessee Department of Human Services, but Bill Keith, owner of SunRise Solar Inc. in Indiana, says hundreds of confidential medical faxes having been coming to him.
“This is a total breach of privacy,” Keith said. “This is supposed to be confidential, and it just so happens we have some scruples here and wouldn’t do anything with that information. We’ve shredded them, but you can have a file an inch thick in no time.’’
Keith has tried to correct the problem with the state and doctors’ offices but to no avail. He even called the governor’s office. State officials say they have contacted the doctors’ offices and told them to be sure to use the correct fax number.</em>
