More than two months after disclosure of protected patient information was mistakenly sent through an unsecured email

LITTLETON — More than two months after disclosure of protected patient information was mistakenly sent through an unsecured email, Littleton Regional Healthcare is unaware of any instances of identity fraud and is taking action to ensure that a breach doesn’t happen again. The hospital continues to contact patients by sending letters about the unauthorized disclosure. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, up to 12,614 LRH patients could be affected from the Health Insurance and Accountability (HIPAA) breach, which occurred on Jan. 2 when a hospital employee accidentally sent an email with patient names and dates of birth to a recipient who the hospital does not employ.Although names and birth dates were disclosed, hospital officials said medical records, dates of hospital admissions or visits, diagnoses, Social Security numbers, phone numbers or email addresses, health plan information, or other personal information were not disclosed.