Connecticut’s Hartford Hospital announced on Monday the theft of a laptop computer containing personal information of almost 10,000 patients. Officials learned on June 26th that the unencrypted laptop was stolen from the home of an employee of Greenplum, a subsidiary of one of the hospital’s vendors, EMC Corporation.
Greenplum was conducting data analysis on Hartford’s behalf as part of a quality improvement initiative to reduce readmissions. The theft was reported to local police, and EMC is conducting its own investigation as well. The laptop contained patients’ names, addresses, dates of birth, Protected Health Information (PHI) such as diagnosis and treatment records, and Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid numbers. While there is no indication that any of the information has been misused, patients affected, from both Hartford Hospital and its affiliated home health care group VNA HealthCare, are being notified and offered two years of credit monitoring at no cost.
Data breaches continue to be reported, with serious consequences for healthcare organizations and consumers alike. Firewall and antivirus solutions, as well as server failover and even full managed IT services options, are among the options Microwize Technology offers which can help to keep your data secure and your office running without a hiccup. Contact a Microwize healthcare IT consultant for details.