Northern Light Acadia Hospital Data Breach (2019)

A communications official at Northern Light Acadia Hospital in Bangor mistakenly emailed the confidential names of 300 patients with prescriptions for Suboxone, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, to an editor at the Bangor Daily News last week. In addition to their names, the list also contained the identities of the patients’ medical providers, all of which is protected under federal privacy laws that prohibit health care organizations from disclosing personal patient information to the public without permission. Disclosing that a person takes Suboxone effectively outs him or her for seeking treatment for opioid addiction.