Stolen laptop puts 2,500 patients enrolled in medical study at risk
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, March 31, 2008
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The PHI of 2,500 patients enrolled in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study is at risk after a laptop containing unencrypted information was stolen February 23, according to a March 24 article in The Washington Post. NIH notified affected patients of the breach March 20.
The laptop contained years of clinical trial data, as well as patient identifiers, such as names and birth dates, reports The Washington Post. The laptop was stolen from the locked car truck of Andrew Arai, a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) laboratory chief.
"When volunteers enroll in a clinical study, they place great trust in the researchers and study staff, expecting them to act both responsibly and ethically," Elizabeth G. Nabel, director of the NHLBI, said in a statement. "We deeply regret that this incident may cause those who have participated in one of our studies to feel that we have violated that trust."
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