Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., has reported that a hospital computer and a television were stolen in a burglary on March 11, according to a hospital news release.
On March 11, EMC staff discovered a television missing, but the computer was not found to be missing until EMC personnel reported for work on March 14. The computer was password protected but not encrypted. It contained an electronic index with limited patient information, including patient names, ages, dates of birth, the last four digits of Social Security numbers and the hospital's medical record number. The computer did not contain any information on patients' medical conditions or treatments or any financial, bank, credit card or health insurance information.
Hospital officials said there is no reason to believe the computer was stolen for the information that it contained. Notification letters are being mailed to all affected patients. EMC has implemented additional security measures to ensure the safety of patient information, including moving the patient index data from individual computers to a secure data center. To the extent that the data may be needed outside of the secure data center, it will be encrypted and returned to the data center when it is no longer needed. The hospital has also taken steps to further secure the facilities during off-hours.
Read the news release about the computer theft at Eisenhower Medical Center.
Read other coverage about hospital data breaches:
- Portland VA Medical Center Missing 75 Patient Identification Cards
- Oklahoma's St. Francis Hospital Data Breach Affects 84K Patients
- West Virginia's Charleston Area Medical Center Data Breach Affected 3K Patients
On March 11, EMC staff discovered a television missing, but the computer was not found to be missing until EMC personnel reported for work on March 14. The computer was password protected but not encrypted. It contained an electronic index with limited patient information, including patient names, ages, dates of birth, the last four digits of Social Security numbers and the hospital's medical record number. The computer did not contain any information on patients' medical conditions or treatments or any financial, bank, credit card or health insurance information.
Hospital officials said there is no reason to believe the computer was stolen for the information that it contained. Notification letters are being mailed to all affected patients. EMC has implemented additional security measures to ensure the safety of patient information, including moving the patient index data from individual computers to a secure data center. To the extent that the data may be needed outside of the secure data center, it will be encrypted and returned to the data center when it is no longer needed. The hospital has also taken steps to further secure the facilities during off-hours.
Read the news release about the computer theft at Eisenhower Medical Center.
Read other coverage about hospital data breaches:
- Portland VA Medical Center Missing 75 Patient Identification Cards
- Oklahoma's St. Francis Hospital Data Breach Affects 84K Patients
- West Virginia's Charleston Area Medical Center Data Breach Affected 3K Patients