The state may have accidentally released the health information of thousands of Department of Social Services clients.
Confidential DSS client identification numbers, and information about prescriptions were included in data provided by DSS to the Office of Policy and Management in February, according to a statement by both departments. The data involved the cost of administering prescription medications to DSS clients. The costs are part of a budget proposal this legislative session.
The Office of Policy and Management turned the information over to several legislators and legislative offices, as well as representatives of organizations involved in administering prescription medications to DSS clients, according to the statement. It did not say which organizations.
Information on as many as 8,500 clients may have been transferred.
"DSS is contacting the legislators and legislative employees who received the information, as well as the organization representatives, to advise them of the sensitivity of the DSS client identification numbers; the need to refrain from further distribution; and now to discard them," said DSS Commissioner Roderick Bremby and OPM Secretary Benjamin Barnes in a joint statement.
No client names or Social Security numbers were released, and the client identification numbers are useless unless paired with other data, according to the state.
We sincerely apologize to anyone that might have been affected by this error. We are working on methods to safeguard this information, so that something like this does not happen again," Bremby and Barnes said.
