Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals Notify Patients Of Security Breach

ID Experts alerts us to this latest x-ray breach incident:

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals Notify Patients Of Security Breach, Affected Patients Offered Extensive Identity Protection

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (TJUH) has notified approximately 600 patients that there was a theft of radiology registration documents containing personal information for services provided between February 4 and March 22, 2005. Affected patients have been sent a letter detailing the extensive identity protection resources being made available to them.

The stolen documents were the subject of a criminal investigation being conducted by the Towamencin Township Police and were disclosed to TJUH management on February 9, 2012. These documents contained personal health information that included: patient name, address, home phone number, work phone number, Social Security number, date of birth, TJUH account number, TJUH medical record number, insurance information, emergency contact, and the specified radiological studies performed.

TJUH has engaged Kroll, Inc. to provide the following free identity protection resources to affected individuals:

• Enhanced Identity Theft Consultation and Restoration – Licensed investigators trained to manage the problems surrounding identity theft are available to listen, answer questions, and offer expertise regarding any concerns patients may have. If a patient’s name or credit is affected by this incident, an investigator will help restore the patient’s identity to pre-theft status.
• Continuous Credit Monitoring – Monitoring alerts from Kroll will make patients aware of key changes to their Experian credit file that could indicate the kind of unauthorized activity commonly associated with identity theft and fraud.

Patients may call 1-877-309-0186 Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern Time, with questions about this incident or to report information relating to the theft.

“We deeply regret this unfortunate incident and we are committed to protecting our patients’ personal health information,” said Thomas J. Lewis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals. “Long before TJUH became aware of this breach, a new process for scanning and destroying radiology registration information had already been implemented. In addition, TJUH continually reinforces the importance of securing patient information, whether paper or electronic, with all managers, and, in response to the breach, provided specific reinforcement to the Department of Radiology.”

via HIPAA Security and Privacy

From the wording of their statement, it seems they had no knowledge of the stolen documents until law enforcement notified them. So how did law enforcement become aware of these documents – in the context of investigating someone for charges of fraud? Or did they just stumble across the documents during a traffic stop… or…? It would be nice to know.