Stolen laptop impacts 200,000 patients in Indiana
An Indiana provider is notifying patients of a stolen laptop that contained patient information.
Premier Healthcare, a Bloomington, Ind.-based, physician-led multispecialty provider healthcare group, discovered on Jan. 4 that a laptop had been stolen from the Billing Department in its locked and alarmed administrative office.
The laptop was password-protected, but was not encrypted, according to a notification on the organization's website. Emails stored on the hard drive on that laptop contained some screenshots, spreadsheets and pdf documents that were used to address billing issues with patients, insurance companies and other healthcare providers.
The documents contained various combinations of patient demographic information, such as names, addresses, dates of birth, medical record numbers, insurance information, and some clinical information for 205,748 individuals. For 1,769 of those individuals, Social Security numbers and/or financial information could also potentially be accessed on the laptop.
An investigation has been unable to locate the stolen laptop or identify the perpetrator.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.