URMC includes healthcare components such as the School of Medicine and Dentistry and Strong Memorial Hospital. URMC is one of the largest health systems in New York State with over 26,000 employees.
URMC filed breach reports with OCR in 2013 and 2017 following its discovery that protected health information had been impermissibly disclosed through the loss of an unencrypted flash drive and theft of an unencrypted laptop, respectively.
"Because theft and loss are constant threats, failing to encrypt mobile devices needlessly puts patient health information at risk," said Roger Severino, OCR Director."When covered entities are warned of their deficiencies, but fail to fix the problem, they will be held fully responsible for their neglect."
In addition to the monetary settlement, URMC will undertake a corrective action plan that includes two years of monitoring their compliance with the HIPAA Rules. The resolution agreement and corrective action plan may be found at