HHS OCR report ยท 2018
Mississippi State Department of Health data breach
OCR report facts
- Covered entity
- Mississippi State Department of Health
- Entity type
- Healthcare Provider
- State
- Mississippi
- Individuals affected
- 30,799
- Submission date
- Mar 26, 2018
- Type of breach
- Unauthorized Access/Disclosure
- Location of breached information
- Business associate present
- No
- Status
- Archive (closed)
OCR description
The covered entity (CE), the Mississippi State Department of Health, discovered that an employee accidentally sent an email on January 25, 2018, to contractors working on a joint project with an attached spreadsheet which the employee did not know contained the protected health information (PHI) of 30,799 individuals. The PHI in the spreadsheet included names, identification numbers, dates of birth, social security numbers, and sexually transmitted disease laboratory test results from 2017. ...
Text as published on the HHS OCR breach portal.
Frequently asked questions
How many people were affected by the Mississippi State Department of Health data breach?
The report to HHS OCR lists 30,799 individuals affected.
When was it reported to HHS?
It was submitted to HHS OCR on Mar 26, 2018.
What type of breach was it?
The OCR portal lists the type of breach as Unauthorized Access/Disclosure, with the breached information located in: Email.
Is the investigation still open?
No. The report is in the OCR portal archive, which holds reports where OCR has closed its review.
Is a breach notice letter from Mississippi State Department of Health legitimate?
This site cannot verify letters. Check the sender against the organisation's official website and the HHS OCR breach portal, and avoid calling numbers or clicking links only listed in an unexpected message. See our guide on what to do after a data breach notice.
Source: HHS OCR Breach Portal, OCR export October 2026. Network USA is not affiliated with HHS or Mississippi State Department of Health.