$2.4 million to settle breach

A Texas health system agreed to pay $2.4 million in May to settle potential HIPAA violations stemming from an incident where it named a patient in a press release. 

Memorial Hermann Health Systems operates hospitals, hospice services, and a senior living and nursing care community in the Houston area. The potential violation occurred in 2015, when a woman who was living in the United States illegally presented a fake identification card during a doctor’s visit. 

Memorial Hermann alerted authorities of the incident, which is permissible under HIPAA, but then published a press release with the patient’s name in it.