INDIANAPOLIS COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM HEALTH PLAN ADMINISTRATOR Health plan steps up security of client data in wake of theft
Health plan steps up security of client data in wake of theft


By Jeff Swiatek
jeff.swiatek@indystar.com
February 5, 2005


An Indianapolis health plan administrator has tightened its security policies after losing one or more laptop computers that contained private health information on its members.

Molloy Wellness notified its members of the security breach and so far hasn't heard from any who have experienced problems traceable to Molloy, said Rhonda Clark, a spokeswoman for the firm's Des Moines, Iowa, parent, Principal Financial Group.

"No one has reported their identity has been jeopardized in any way," she said.

She didn't say how many customer names were in the lost database. When it was acquired 14 months ago by Principal, Molloy reported it provided services to 130,000 health plan members.

The waylaid information was in one or more laptop computers that were stolen while being taken to a public wellness screening in November, Clark said.

Police were told of the theft and haven't found the thief or thieves, although police absolved Molloy employees of guilt, she said.

The laptops were password-protected, so anyone who tried to read the files would need a code word to do so, she said. Information in the lost files included Social Security numbers of members.

Since the incident, Clark said, Molloy no longer puts customer health records into portable laptop computers and has stopped using Society Security numbers as customer identification numbers. The company also prohibited employees from taking laptops with privileged member information to out-of-the-office public sites, she said.

"The safety and security of customer data is of primary importance to us," she said.

The incident is an example of how it has become easier for patient health information to be revealed accidentally or stolen as hospitals, doctors and health plans convert paper files into electronic records, said Mohit Ghose, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans in Washington, D.C.

"Patient privacy is definitely one of the top concerns for the industry as a whole, especially as we move into an age where you have better access to electronic records," he said.

He said he hadn't heard of any cases of the trade group's members losing sensitive customer data.

Call Star reporter Jeff Swiatek at (317) 444-6483.