Date: 5/6/2013 Number: 13-017 Contact: Anita Gore, Heather Bourbeau – (916) 440-7259 SACRAMENTO A California Department of Public Health (CDPH) investigation has found that a reel containing images of 2,000 State of California Birth Records for 1974 was found in an unsecure location. These birth certificates contain names, addresses, Social Security numbers and some medical information. CDPH has…
Category: Health Data
Mystery over laptop stolen from psychologist whose testimony in the Jodi Arias murder trial poked holes in the accused murderer's self-defense plea
From the Daily Mail: The psychologist who testified in the Jodi Arias murder trial had her laptop stolen in February, just weeks before she was slated to testify in the highly publicized murder trial, a new report has revealed. Dr Janeen Demarte told police that the computer contained notes that pertained to the murder trial….
Insurer Sues To Duck $1M Patient Data Breach Settlement
Dan Packel reports that once again, an insurance company is suing for judgement that it is not liable for covering its insured over a data breach: Peerless Insurance Co. filed suit in Pennsylvania federal court Thursday to get out of covering losses for a company that mishandled patient medical records when relocating a clinic acquired…
University of Rochester Medical Center notifies patients of misplaced USB drive
The University of Rochester Medical Center has sent letters to a group of former orthopaedic patients, alerting them to the loss of protected health information. Earlier this week, URMC notified 537 patients that a resident physician misplaced a USB computer flash drive that carried protected health information. The flash drive was used to transport information…
FTC Panel Highlights Growing Problem of Medical Identity Theft, Especially Among Senior Citizens
Identity theft is the nation’s fastest-growing crime, claiming almost ten million victims per year, according to FBI statistics. Medical identity theft is the latest threat to affect patients—especially senior citizens. To address this growing epidemic, the Federal Trade Commission will host the educational forum “Senior Identity Theft: A Problem in This Day and Age” to discuss the challenges facing victims of…
Where there's a breach, there's a lawsuit, Wednesday edition
A few weeks ago I noted that William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center in South Carolina was notifying over 7,000 patients of a breach involving a stolen laptop. Now two of the veterans affected have filed a lawsuit over the breach. Additional details on the lawsuit, which was filed April 12, can be found here.