Emil Berry reports on a recent breach that was originally described as affecting “tens of thousands” of people. Now it appears that the breach was much bigger: A file containing identifying information for every physician in the country contracted with a Blues-affiliated insurance plan was on a laptop computer stolen from a BlueCross BlueShield Assn….
Category: Health Data
Man charged with credit card fraud after hospital telethon
Even a telethon for a worthy cause can lead to trouble. Tony Lofaro reports: An Ottawa man is facing several charges after a police investigation into stolen credit card data at a hospital telethon in May. The Ottawa police organized fraud unit began its investigation after a report of stolen credit card data being used…
PRMC learns of computer breach
Although a server containing information for about 7,600 Plains Regional Medical Center mammography patients was hacked two years ago in North Carolina, the hospital administrator expects no ill consequences. Administrator Hoyt Skabelund said the hospital was notified Sept. 24 the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which developed the software PRMC uses to send…
Blue Cross physicians warned of data breach
Kay Lazar reports: The largest health insurer in Massachusetts is warning roughly 39,000 physicians and other health care providers in the state that personal information, including Social Security numbers, may have been compromised after a laptop containing the data was stolen in August from an employee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association’s national…
Better safe than sorry: Express Scripts should notify everyone
Almost a year after it was contacted by an extortionist, pharmacy benefits management company Express Scripts first learned that the extortionist was in possession of at least 700,000 more members’ personal information than they originally knew about. The company has now notified those individuals, but how many other members may also be affected? It’s time…
Woman sentenced for bank account theft
A woman who stole about $72,000 from the bank accounts of patients and dentists at dental offices where she worked as an office manager was sentenced today to five years and four months behind bars. The plea bargain for Emily Marie Forbes included a recommendation that she be allowed to serve her custody in a…