Packard Children's breach impacts 57K patients

| | Health Exec | Cybersecurity

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine, both located in Stanford, Calif., are notifying approximately 57,000 patients about a potential data breach.

A password-protected laptop computer was stolen from a physician’s car away from campus on the night of Jan. 9. Information for pediatric patients included names, dates of birth, medical record numbers and basic medical descriptors. Following discovery of the theft, Packard Children’s and the School of Medicine launched an investigation with security and law enforcement, and began contacting patients potentially affected.

The medical information on the stolen laptop was predominantly from 2009 and related to past care and research. There is no indication that any patient information has been accessed or compromised. Packard Children’s and the School of Medicine continue working diligently with law enforcement to recover the laptop.


 

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