MD: Patient records stolen

[kirniki <kirniki () gmail com>]

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20090411/NEWS01/904110363/1002

SALISBURY -- As many as 100,000 patients of Peninsula Orthopaedic
Associates are being warned to protect themselves against identity
theft after tapes containing patient information were stolen.
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In a letter mailed this week, Chief Executive Officer Brian K. Mathias
told patients they should place 90-day fraud alerts on their accounts
at the three major credit bureaus.

Patients also were advised to keep an eye on benefits statements from
their health insurance companies since they may also be at risk for
medical identity theft.

[...]

The records from Peninsula Orthopaedic -- which has offices in
Salisbury and Berlin -- were stolen March 25 while in transport to an
off-site storage facility, Mathias said in the letter.

"While this information was stored in a proprietary database format
and would not be readily accessible to the average person without
specialized equipment or software, it is capable of being accessed by
a third party," Mathias wrote.

Patients' personal information including their Social Security
numbers, employers and health insurance plan numbers may have been
among the information stolen.

[...]
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