Sutter's stolen computer contains info on 3.3 million

Luke Gale | | Health Exec | EMR/EHR
laptop, health IT - 17.78 Kb
Sutter Health, a northern California healthcare network, issued a notice informing its clients that a desktop computer containing some personal health information was stolen from the Sutter Health administrative offices in Sacramento.

“I want our patients and their families to know that since the theft of the computer we’ve already taken steps to prevent this from happening again,” Sutter's President and CEO Pat Fry said.

A notice posted on the Sutter website said that the computer was stolen during the weekend of Oct. 15 to 16 and that the Sacramento Police Department began an investigation after receiving a report of the theft on Oct. 17.

According to Sutter, the stolen computer did not contain financial records, social security numbers or complete medical records, but it did include basic personal information on 3.3 million patients who received care at 22 facilities between 1995 and January 2011.

Sutter had completed encrypting mobile devices and was in the process of encrypting desktop computers when the password-protected, but unencrypted computer was stolen.

The Sutter notice did not provide details regarding security steps taken since the theft of the computer.

Luke Gale

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