Madison, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) learned Sept. 16 that the agency had impermissibly released protected health information of 1,723 persons in our care and individuals who discharged from DOC in response to a public records request.
The names of all individuals evaluated by DOC’s Bureau of Health Services as part of a Chapter 980 Special Purpose Evaluation were released as well as mental health diagnoses and diagnostic test scores from Special Purpose Evaluations up through Oct. 2022 were released to a state agency office located in Kenosha on July 17.
The release of protected health information is a breach of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA. Under HIPAA notification rules, DOC is sending letters to all individuals impacted and will report the incident to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Once the breach was discovered, DOC took actions to ensure the agency receiving the records permanently deleted the document from its computers and files.
Public records staff have also implemented safeguards to ensure all DOC records responsive to a public records request are thoroughly reviewed for protected health information prior to their release, and that no protected health information is disclosed without proper redactions or written patient authorization.
Individuals who receive a notification about this incident may call 1-877-884-4741 for more
information.
