University of North Carolina Dermatology, a UNC Health Care faculty physicians practice, began notifying 24,000 patients of a break-in at the UNC Dermatology and Skin Cancer Center that may have compromised their protected health information.
On Oct. 8, a computer was stolen from UNC Dermatology and Skin Cancer Center during a break-in. The computer contained patient information from the former "Burlington Dermatology Center" or "Burlington Dermatology," which UNC Health Care acquired in 2015.
UNC believes patients seen at Burlington Dermatology through September 2015 may have had their names, addresses and phone numbers as well as employment status, employer names, birthdates and Social Security numbers compromised as a result of the theft.
"We have ensured that all remaining computers acquired from, or kept for use by Burlington Dermatology have been properly secured. UNC Health Care has also implemented process improvements to ensure that future acquisitions of physician practices include a process to properly secure legacy computers and electronic patient information," said David Behinfar, chief privacy officer at UNC Health Care.
Hospital officials are urging patients to review and monitor their credit. They are offering one free year of credit monitoring protection services to the affected individuals.
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