North Carolina-based Cornerstone Health Care has alerted more than 500 patients after a laptop containing patients' personal information was stolen from Cornerstone Neurology, one of its practice locations.
The laptop was stolen on Jan. 6, and on Feb. 26, Cornerstone began notifying the affected patients of the data breach. The stolen laptop contained patients' names, dates of birth, physician names and a summary of nerve condition scans, according to a Business Journal report.
The gap between discovering the laptop was missing and reaching out to patients was due to the time required to determine the computer had been taken as well as identifying what patients might have been affected. "This wasn't one of our laptops that our providers use to see all of our patients," said Katie Henry, chief compliance officer and general counsel at Cornerstone.
Since learning of the theft, Cornerstone has installed new locks on rooms at Cornerstone Neurology that contain electronic devices, reviewed its policies and procedures and provided additional training to staff on the importance of securing patient information.
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