Charles Gazaway reports that two laptops containing unencrypted personal information were stolen from Jewish Hospital. This appears to be the third breach in recent months involving Jewish Hospital. Previous breaches were reported here. A statement posted on the hospital’s web site says:
A potential data breach was discovered at the Jewish Hospital Catheterization Lab following a burglary. Two password protected laptop computers were stolen from the department between Friday evening, July 16, 2010 and Monday morning, July 19, 2010. Jewish Hospital is profoundly sorry that this occurred.
The stolen laptops contained information on 2,089 patients. The patients affected by the potential breach were treated in the Jewish Hospital Catheterization Lab only, between June 2, 2009 and July 16, 2010. The information included: patient name, date of service, medical record number, patient account number, Social Security number, race, insurance carrier, address, phone number, sex, date of birth, patient allergies if any, and initial patient assessment information. We reported the theft to the Louisville Metro Police Department as soon as we became aware of it on July 19 and are continuing to work with the police as they conduct a thorough investigation.
The internal investigation included interviews with team members who work in the vandalized area and the review of video surveillance. The stolen laptops were secured to a desk with a locking device, and were also behind a locked door.
The hospital is committed to safeguarding patients’ sensitive personal information and took immediate steps to fortify the protective measures that were already in place. Efforts have continued to implement encryption software for all laptops, computers/hard drives and all other portable electronic devices.
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