MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota's attorney general is accusing a debt collection agency of failing to protect the confidentiality of thousands of patients' health care records.
Lori Swanson announced a lawsuit against Accretive Health Inc., Chicago, Thursday. Accretive works with hospitals to maximize revenue.
Swanson alleges in the lawsuit that the agency gained access to patient data through contracts with hospitals, then scored the patients' risk of becoming hospitalized. Swanson says the agency shares its activities with Wall Street investors.
The issue came to light in July after an Accretive agent lost a laptop with data belonging to 23,500 Minnesotans.
