This story has been updated with the company responsible for the inmate database stating that while names of real inmates were released, the health information listed was fictitious.
Electronic records for at least 70 inmates in Alaska’s prisons, including Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau, were improperly accessible to the public for months, although the company responsible is categorically denying allegations medical records for the inmates were released as well.
Instead, Alabama-based NaphCare Inc. announced Wednesday an internal investigation shows the records “contained screenshots that displayed Alaska (Department of Corrections) patient names with fictitious health-related information for internal training purposes.”
“Following a report that patient health information may have been publicly accessible, we initiated an investigation and determined a section of a training manual for our electronic health record system was made public, mistakenly,” the company noted in a prepared statement. “NaphCare took immediate action to secure the exposed content and disable public access to training materials.”
“Of the 70 records identified by the ACLU as possibly exposed, our investigation found that none of them included personal health information for Alaska DOC patients,” the statement add, noting it is seeking a retraction of the ACLU’s accusations.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska stated in a letter Monday that health information for at least 74 inmates was accessible, in violation of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
ACLU of Alaska Prison Project Director Megan Edge said Tuesday afternoon such data had apparently been available since at least Nov. 30 of last year.
Edge said she became aware the inmate data was available at the electronic health records website TechCare while doing research about Department of Corrections medical care and facilities as part of her advocacy work. The ACLU’s letter shows screenshots including real people’s names, along with medication and other data.
“I saw names immediately as people that have been in contact with us, and so I recognized them immediately as real people, and I was familiar with some of their medical issues already,” she said. “So then we went through and checked as many as we could for who was still incarcerated and other people that we knew.”
One of the names was Mark Cook, an inmate at Lemon Creek who died in custody in April of 2023, whose medical records the ACLU had sought from the corrections department and were denied, Edge said.
The ACLU, in a statement issued Wednesday after NaphCare announced the results of its investigation, stated publishing the names of real inmates with “allegedly fictitious medical statements” is also problematic.
“Everyone in Alaska, including incarcerated people, is entitled to the privacy of personal health information,” Meghan Barker, an ACLU spokesperson, said in the statement. “NaphCare’s assertion that it hasn’t published any true information — but has instead published false health care information about real Alaskans — is extremely troubling and should be of great concern.”
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
