Memorial Healthcare System (MHS) in Hollywood, Fla., is notifying patients of a data breach affecting patients' health information.

On Jan. 27, MHS was notified of one employee that may have improperly accessed patient information and of another employee (via law enforcement) who also may have improperly accessed patient information with the intent to process fraudulent tax returns.

MHS informed the public that “[b]oth employees have been terminated,” in a statement. The patient data may have included names, dates of birth and social security numbers during 2011 to early 2012. “No medical records were taken,” MHS added.

The provider said it has been cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation and started sending notification letters to patients who were potentially affected.

“We deeply regret this incident has occurred and have taken steps to try and prevent such an incident from occurring in the future,” MHS concluded. “We have continued to refine our privacy policies, to reinforce with all staff the importance of handling patient information and to enhance many of our auditing controls by taking advantage of recent advances in best practices technology.”