CALIFORNIA COMPUTER CONTAINING HEALTH INFORMATION STOLEN AP Wire 02/23/2006 News in brief from Northern California: "SACRAMENTO (AP) - A laptop computer containing health information for more than 1,700 clients of an HIV-AIDS clinic has been stolen in a home burglary.

The computer was taken from the Fair Oaks residence of a University of California, Davis researcher who brought it home to finish a report. The records include the name, age, gender, race, ZIP code and HIV status of nearly every client of CARES, a Sacramento clinic that works closely with the university.

The computer was stolen Feb. 10, and patients were notified in a letter mailed Monday. One patient, identified by The Sacramento Bee only as David, said he felt his trust was abused.

'My question is: Why were my medical records taken on a laptop to Fair Oaks? They shouldn't ever have been taken out of the building,' he said.

The clinic's executive director, Marty Keale, said the researcher took the computer home to avoid distractions at the office.

'We deeply regret this happened,' Keale said. 'We take the confidentiality of our clients' health information very seriously.'

The clinic and the university are now considering a policy that would require any data that leave the building to be encrypted.

CARES, the largest provider of HIV-AIDS services in the Sacramento Valley, informed the California Department of Health Services about the breach last week.

The records did not include addresses, Social Security numbers or driver's license numbers. The clinic will have counselors available to talk to patients about the breach."