CALIFORNIA COMPUTER STOLEN http://www.mydesert.com/article/20110330/NEWS01/103300308/Eisenhower-Medical-Center-Computer-patient-information-stolen?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|p
Eisenhower Medical Center: Computer with patient information stolen
Eisenhower to contact those affected, set up hotline
1:59 AM, Mar. 31, 2011
A computer stolen from Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage more than two weeks ago contained a file with personal information on 514,330 patients dating back to the 1980s, hospital officials announced today.“The computer was password protected, but not encrypted,” officials say in a letter that will be sent to patients beginning today.“The information in the ... file included patient names, ages, dates of birth, the last four digits of the Social Security number, and the hospital's medical record number,” the letter states.“There was no bank credit, financial, health insurance, no treatment, no medical records,” said Elizabeth Wholihan, director of marketing and public relations at the hospital.The theft occurred late in the day on March 11, she said, but the hospital was not aware the computer had been stolen until March 14.It wasn't until March 17 that officials learned the backup patient file was on the stolen computer, Wholihan said, adding that on March 18 the theft was then reported to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.The hospital is setting up a hotline for patients who might be affected by the theft and also will offer them a year's free credit monitoring, she said.But Dr. Deborah C. Peel, founder of Patients Privacy Rights, a Texas-based watchdog organization, says “credit theft monitoring is not good enough; they also need to have their medical insurance use monitored.“Medical identity theft — where someone uses your health insurance to get treatment — can take up to two years or more to discover,” she said.Wholihan said the file contains no information that can be linked to a person's health insurance information.The file was a backup file that was not displayed on the computer's desktop, she said.“When you turn on the computer, it's not there; it's not something you can click on,” she said.The hospital has reported the theft to both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the California Department of Public Health as required by law, she said.Ralph Montano, a spokesman for Department of Public Health said the case is under investigation, but declined further comment.The notification letter to patients also is required by law.Wholihan said the hospital has not deliberately delayed notifying patients but was following procedures and researching what would need to be done to comply with the law.The 514,330 names in the file included “everyone treated at Eisenhower Medical Center since the late 1980s. That means a fair number of deceased (people), minors, people from other countries, people from other states,” she said. “We had to go through and see what laws are applicable.”The hospital also delayed a week before reporting the theft to the sheriff's department, while its own security team investigated the burglary, she said.The computer was stationed in an open lobby area and is used to check-in patients. The building was still open, but the people who would use the computer were gone for the day.Officials believe it was crime of opportunity.A television in the lobby also was taken, according to authorities.This is the second computer theft at the hospital in two months.Two laptops were stolen in February, but the sheriff's department said there is no connection between the two crimes.Wholihan said the hospital has increased the number of security patrols on its Rancho Mirage campus and may increase the number of surveillance cameras.K Kaufmann covers health care, energy and green technology, retail and agriculture for The Desert Sun. She can be reached atk.kaufmann@thedesertsun.com or (760) 778-4622.Page
1:59 AM, Mar. 31, 2011
A computer stolen from Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage more than two weeks ago contained a file with personal information on 514,330 patients dating back to the 1980s, hospital officials announced today.
“The computer was password protected, but not encrypted,” officials say in a letter that will be sent to patients beginning today.
“The information in the ... file included patient names, ages, dates of birth, the last four digits of the Social Security number, and the hospital's medical record number,” the letter states.
“There was no bank credit, financial, health insurance, no treatment, no medical records,” said Elizabeth Wholihan, director of marketing and public relations at the hospital.
The theft occurred late in the day on March 11, she said, but the hospital was not aware the computer had been stolen until March 14.
It wasn't until March 17 that officials learned the backup patient file was on the stolen computer, Wholihan said, adding that on March 18 the theft was then reported to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
The hospital is setting up a hotline for patients who might be affected by the theft and also will offer them a year's free credit monitoring, she said.
But Dr. Deborah C. Peel, founder of Patients Privacy Rights, a Texas-based watchdog organization, says “credit theft monitoring is not good enough; they also need to have their medical insurance use monitored.
“Medical identity theft — where someone uses your health insurance to get treatment — can take up to two years or more to discover,” she said.
Wholihan said the file contains no information that can be linked to a person's health insurance information.
The file was a backup file that was not displayed on the computer's desktop, she said.
“When you turn on the computer, it's not there; it's not something you can click on,” she said.
The hospital has reported the theft to both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the California Department of Public Health as required by law, she said.
Ralph Montano, a spokesman for Department of Public Health said the case is under investigation, but declined further comment.
The notification letter to patients also is required by law.
Wholihan said the hospital has not deliberately delayed notifying patients but was following procedures and researching what would need to be done to comply with the law.
The 514,330 names in the file included “everyone treated at Eisenhower Medical Center since the late 1980s. That means a fair number of deceased (people), minors, people from other countries, people from other states,” she said. “We had to go through and see what laws are applicable.”
The hospital also delayed a week before reporting the theft to the sheriff's department, while its own security team investigated the burglary, she said.
The computer was stationed in an open lobby area and is used to check-in patients. The building was still open, but the people who would use the computer were gone for the day.
Officials believe it was crime of opportunity.
A television in the lobby also was taken, according to authorities.
This is the second computer theft at the hospital in two months.
Two laptops were stolen in February, but the sheriff's department said there is no connection between the two crimes.
Wholihan said the hospital has increased the number of security patrols on its Rancho Mirage campus and may increase the number of surveillance cameras.
K Kaufmann covers health care, energy and green technology, retail and agriculture for The Desert Sun. She can be reached atk.kaufmann@thedesertsun.com or (760) 778-4622.
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