Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston is notifying patients that their medical data has been breached after a laptop and cell phone were stolen from a BWH physician in an armed robbery.
The robbery occurred Sept. 24. Assailants forced the physician to disclose the pass codes and encryption keys to the laptop and cell phone. A CBS Local report indicates the physician was held up at gunpoint.
The robbery did not take place on the hospital campus. The theft was reported to the Boston Police Department.
The devices contained information of patients who received treatment at BWH's neurology and neurosurgery programs between October 2011 and September 2014, as well as some individuals participating in research studies. Compromised information may include patient names, medical record number, age, medications and treatment and diagnosis information.
No financial account information, insurance numbers or Social Security numbers were included.
The CBS Local report indicates 999 patients' information was stored on the two devices.
BWH does not know whether the information on the laptop and cell phone has been accessed, and neither device has been recovered.
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