Spokane health officials today [Monday] reported the release of improper personal health information.
The health district says it accidentally released the information on September 8 to Educational Service District 101 and one other party.
In a briefing with reporters, Health Officer Bob Lutz says the release was related to work his agency has done with school districts this summer as they prepare for the school year.
“We had a lot of materials going out, specifically, to ESD 101, also the school nurse group, the school nurse lead. So we have put a lot of documents together. One of those documents was on an Excel spreadsheet. Unfortunately, the wrong Excel spreadsheet was sent out," he said.
The document that went out, he says, contained information about people who may have tested positive for Covid. It included names and other identifying information, including who they work for and their Covid status. Lutz says the health district was alerted to the release about a half hour later. He says only a few people had opened it.
“They abide by the same sort of precautions, patient confidentiality, that we do with respect to HIPAA and FIRPA. So, yes, they assured us, and we have great confidence, that they would not disclose that information," Lutz said.
Administrative Officer Amelia Clark apologized on behalf of the health district and said the agency is taking steps to prevent future disclosures. She said the people whose information was disclosed have been notified and urged to keep an eye on their financial accounts.