Misplaced Backup Tapes (Not Encrypted) Emory

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Atlanta Health System Announces Data Breach Affecting 315K Patients

On Wednesday, Emory Healthcare -- an Atlanta-based health care system -- announced that it cannot locate 10 computer discs containing personal data on 315,000 patients, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Teegardin, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/18).

Details on the Breach


John Fox -- Emory Healthcare president and CEO -- said the discs went missing from storage between Feb. 7 and Feb. 20 (Karkaria, Atlanta Business Chronicle, 4/18).

The 10 missing discs contained information on all patients who received surgery at the Emory Clinic Ambulatory Surgery Center, Emory University Hospital or Emory University Midtown between September 1990 and April 2007.

Data stored on the discs included patients' :
Names;
Diagnoses;
Surgeons; and
Surgical procedures (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/18).

In addition, about 228,000 of the missing records included Social Security numbers, Emory Healthcare said.

Read more: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2012/4/19/atlanta-health-system-announces-data-breach-affecting-315k-patients.aspx#ixzz1ssiWvRD4