Covenant reviews security policies
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Story last updated at 7/15/2008 - 2:43 am
A laptop computer containing the private medical records of 700 Covenant patients was stolen in May, a hospital official said.
The information stored on the computer was password protected, said Gwen Stafford, a Covenant vice-president. Only patients of the neuroscience department could have been affected, and they were notified, Stafford said. Still, the hospital may change the way it stores patient records.
"As a result of the this, I would anticipate laptops will not be the means of storing logs of information," Stafford said.
It's believed the computer was stolen from the department between May 23 and 25.
Included on the computer were patient names, dates of birth and reasons for office visits, Stafford said.
No financial information, such as bank account numbers or insurance information, was stored on the computer, she said. No Social Security numbers were stored on the stolen laptop either, Stafford said.
The theft was reported to Covenant security, as well as the police, Stafford said.
"Clearly we are trying to work with the police and our own security to see who might have done this," Stafford said. "It's an ongoing criminal investigation."
Stafford said Covenant will probably review the incident to determine what could have been done better.
Different departments at the hospital use a variety of methods to store patient information, according to Stafford. Some use paper, others use computer hard drives.
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kristen.hackney@lubbockonline.com 766-8713 shelly.gonzales@lubbockonline.com 766-8747
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