Boston Children's Hospital has agreed to settle data breach allegations for $40,000 and to take steps to prevent future security violations, according to the Attorney General of Massachusetts.
In May 2012, an unencrypted, BCH-issued laptop was stolen from a physician who was presenting at a conference in Buenos Aires. The physician had recently received an email from a colleague containing the protected health information of approximately 2,100 patients, 1,700 of which were under 18 years old. The PHI included names, birth dates, diagnoses, procedures and dates of surgery.
While the physician "took steps that he thought were adequate to remove the protected health information from the laptop," the information remained on the computer, according to a news release.
The $40,000 settlement includes a $30,000 civil penalty and a $10,000 payment to a fund overseen by the Attorney General's Office directed toward educational programs regarding protecting health and personal information.
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