Two recent healthcare data breaches involve the accidental loss of patient information.
Thousands of paper patient records from Eastside Medical Center in Snellville, Ga., wound up on scattered by the roadside after the documents were sent with a third-party vendor to be shredded, according to a WSBTV report.
Many records have been recovered by the hospital, and an ongoing investigation seeks to determine both what happened and if any patient information was compromised.
"We take the protection of all patient privacy information very seriously. When we were made aware of this situation, we took immediate action to recover the documents. We are investigating this situation and if we find that our patient information may have been compromised we will take action immediately with the appropriate parties," wrote hospital officials in a statement.
In Fortuna, Calif., Redwood Memorial Hospital announced the loss of a thumb drive containing personal and medical information of 1,039 patients, according to a Times-Standard report.
Hospital officials discovered Nov. 8 the drive had been missing since Nov. 6. All affected patients have been notified, and the hospital is currently working to ensure all thumb drives and mobile devices are encrypted and all employees are aware of the hospital's security policies, according to the report.
"We are deeply sorry for this oversight and take it very seriously. As soon as we were made aware, we took immediate action to safeguard our patients' information," David O'Brien, the hospital's president, said in a release. “We remain committed to providing all of our patients with safe, quality care and will work hard to protect the confidentiality of their data."
More Articles on Data Breaches:
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Florida Department of Health Notifies 2,200 Patients of Data Breach
Data Breach at DaVita HealthCare Partners Compromises PHI of 11,500