Laptop containing patient data stolen from Santa Cruz, California office
The personal and medical information of 1,000 Santa Cruz County, California patients was contained on a laptop that was recently stolen from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s Santa Cruz office.
Sandra Gonzales states in her report for The Mercury News that, as a result of the laptop theft, officials at the Medical Foundation sent out notices to let patients who may have been affected know what happened, said Mark Riley, a foundation spokesman.
Riley stated that the laptop was attached to a neurological piece of equipment when thieves broke into the foundation’s office and stole it. The office was closed at the time of the theft.
The information on the laptop included EMG results, the patients’ medical record numbers, treatment plans and diagnoses.
Due to the theft, the foundation has offered its patients free credit and identity fraud monitoring and suggested to them that they contact local authorities if they notice anything out of the ordinary on their credit reports.
Officials at the foundation also stated that they were taking more effective precautions to prevent any further thefts from occurring. Santa Cruz law enforcement is still investigation the incident.
If you want edit me? just go to your profile than add description text as many you like. ^_*