Ty Steele of KVAL in Oregon reports:
Patients of a Eugene medical clinic are worried about protecting their identities after a security breach.
Nancy Shepherd of Cottage Grove said her parents, both of whom are in their late 70s, received a troubling notice from the office of Dr. Rex Smith, a podiatrist.
“Important security and protection notification: Please read this entire letter,” said the letter, which arrived April 6.
Dr. Smith, a Eugene podiatrist with a practice on Chambers Street, sent the letter to Shepherd’s parents. The first paragraph said, “…my staff and I have discovered an unauthorized disclosure of your personal and health information, which may compromise the privacy and security of that information.”
Eugene Police confirmed that on Feb. 19, someone broke into Dr. Smith’s office and stole medication and a computer.
According to Dr. Smith’s letter, the computer contained personal information for many patients including names, birth dates and social security numbers.
Read more on KVAL. The video news clip shows forms with fields that include insurance billing information, but it’s not clear whether those data types were actually involved in the breach.