1200 patient records missing from TX hospital district

[Henry Brown <hbrown () knology net>]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5931497.html

A low-level Harris County Hospital District administrator probably 
violated federal law when she downloaded medical and financial records 
for 1,200 patients with HIV, AIDS and other medical conditions onto a 
flash drive that later was lost or stolen, legal experts said Thursday.

[...]

The hospital district has released little information about the 
situation. On Wednesday, spokesman Bryan McLeod issued a brief statement 
to the Chronicle saying patients affected by the breach would receive a 
letter in the mail and would be allowed to enroll in a credit protection 
program at the district's expense. The district has strengthened its 
policies and procedures regarding the use of transportable media 
devices, the statement said.

[...]

McLeod later issued a second brief statement saying the data on the 
device included the patients' names, medical record numbers, billing 
codes, the facilities where the office visits occurred and other billing 
information. It also included the patients' Medicaid or Medicare 
numbers, which can indicate their Social Security numbers or those of 
their spouses.

[...]


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