North Country Hospital in Newport, Vt., has alerted patients to a data breach resulting from a former hospital employee having possession of a retired laptop containing patients' health information.
Hospital officials believe the former employee has the ability to access the password-protected information, and have demanded the employee return the laptop. Despite the involvement of law enforcement agencies, the hospital has been unable to recover the laptop, and opted to disclose the breach per HHS regulations.
The hospital's passwords and access codes have been changed to prevent the employee from using the laptop to access the main hospital database. Hospital officials do not believe the employee has used or disclosed patient information on the laptop, apart from negotiating the laptop's return with the hospital.
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