The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is investigating an “unauthorized access” incident that prompted the Guam Memorial Hospital to shut down its network in March 2023. According to an acceptance letter, the HHS Office for Civil Rights for the Pacific region was in receipt of the complaint.
The letter stated that the complaint alleged that GMH “violated the federal Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information and/or the Security Standards for Protection of Electronic Protected Health information” in response to the electronic breach. The HHS letter identified specific sections of the federal standards which may have been violated.
The complainant said the OCR was seeking a list of patients potentially harmed by the network shutdown, and investigating patients who should have received medication, blood transfusions, surgical procedures, and other services but did not because the GMH computer system was down.
At the time of the network shutdown, a recording of a meeting that included GMH administration, staff, and nurses revealed concerns by some nurses that the network shutdown “put patients’ lives at risk.” Nurses noted issues with filling prescription medication and blood transfusions not being carried out for scheduled patients because the network was shut down.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals’ electronic personal health information. The Security Rule requires appropriate administrative, physical and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of electronic protected health information.
According to the complainant, the OCR, which enforces federal civil rights law, is investigating the alleged violations.
GMH reported on March 13 that the “unauthorized access” was discovered on March 2, and the hospital maintained that no patient information had been compromised and insisted the network was offline as a precautionary measure.
At the same time, GMH thanked its medical staff for “painting an excellent level of care” for patients through the challenge.
As of press time, questions posed to hospital spokesperson Cindy Hanson regarding the investigation into the alleged violations remained unanswered.
