University of Iowa Community HomeCare faces legal action from a former employee and a patient, suing the entity on behalf of themselves and over 67,000 others for an alleged data breach in March. They claim UI Community HomeCare failed to prevent, reported late, and benefited unjustly while jeopardizing individuals for years.
Becky Kaefring, a former employee, and Kimberly Sullivan, a former patient, filed a lawsuit this fall against UI Community HomeCare and UI Community Medical Services, alleging deliberate choices to sidestep data security obligations, compromising personal information due to substandard security measures.
The suit demands various remedies, including refunds and cybersecurity enhancements, urging UIHC entities to purge personal information unless justified, undergo security monitoring, and provide annual staff training.
UI Community HomeCare’s Executive Director, Shane Sedenka, indicated that their electronic record system differs from UIHC’s, emphasizing the absence of evidence of UI Health Care protected health information being affected.
The breach, reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in May despite occurring in March, impacted 67,897 individuals, containing personal information. UI Community HomeCare clarified no signs of misuse were detected.
Claimants express enduring distress, with Kaefring citing anxiety and privacy concerns, emphasizing the defendants’ alleged oversight amid rising data breaches in the healthcare sector.
In a separate case, a current UIHC patient updated her lawsuit, accusing UI Hospitals and Clinics of unauthorized sharing of personal protected health information with Facebook, allegedly for marketing gains. The suit claims UIHC utilized a Facebook Tracking Pixel, transmitting personal data without consent.
UIHC responded by seeking dismissal, arguing the accessed data was willingly provided, distinguishing UIHC as a state instrumentality from private healthcare providers facing similar accusations.
The plaintiff contends she shared medical information on UIHC’s site, unaware of its transmission to Facebook, citing privacy violations and potential targeting of advertisements linked to her medical conditions.
