Laptop with patient information missing from Texas Medical Center

UT Health reported a laptop containing patient information as missing on Aug. 2.

A laptop containing information of about nearly 600 patients has gone missing from UT Physicians, the medical group practice of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School.

It was discovered Aug. 2 that the unencrypted laptop was missing from a locked closet at the UT Physicians orthopedic clinic. UT Health sent out a statement on Aug. 28 saying it had informed patients about the incident. The institution spent the 26 days in between identifying whose information was on the laptop, it said. The federal government allows for 60 days before reporting such an incident.

UT Health said it does not have reason to believe the information has been accessed or used by unauthorized individuals.

Information on the laptop, which has a password, includes names, birth dates and medical record numbers. No addresses, social security numbers, insurance or financial information was on the laptop.

While UT Health policy for the last two years has been to encrypt all laptop computers, this laptop slipped through the cracks because it was in inventory as a medical device. Amar Yousif, chief information security officer at UT Health, said practices have already been changed to ensure this type of thing doesn't happen again.

"It was a component of a medical device, so we missed it" Yousif said. "But I'd like to think it's a good thing we discovered the error in our process."

Yousif said the institution has already revised its purchasing behaviors based on the incident. Information technology personnel will have to review a device before it's purchased and installed to ensure that if a computer is attached, it is up to the institution's security standards.

Bayan Raji covers health care for the Houston Business Journal. For her breaking stories and industry insights, follow her on Twitter.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_36/~3/AQwOLnvz87k/laptop-with-patient-information.html

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