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A Minnesota medical clinic employee has fired because she viewed patient records without authorization. The medical facility notified approximately 3800 patients of the breach and offered them free credit monitoring services.

Article Excerpt:

Allina Health is notifying 3,807 patients by letter that a medical assistant at its Inver Grove Heights clinic viewed their medical records without a valid reason and beyond the scope of her authority.

The Twin Cities’ largest hospital and clinic system fired the employee — who had access to patients’ clinical, health insurance and demographic information — and is offering no-cost monitoring services to make sure they don’t suffer financial or other ramifications from the privacy breach.

Some of the patients were in the Allina-wide electronic record-keeping system but hadn’t visited the Inver Grove Heights clinic. What the worker was trying to accomplish is unclear, said Allina spokesman David Kanihan. “There’s no evidence to suggest she was doing this for financial gain.”

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