Health Information Management

Computer theft exposes data on St. Vincent Health System and Methodist Medical Group patients

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, April 28, 2008

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The March 21 theft of a computer server from Central Collection Bureau, an Indiana debt-collection agency that collects past-due bills for nearly 100 businesses, may have compromised  information about patients from St. Vincent Health System and Methodist Medical Group, The Associated Press  (AP) reported April 21 in the South Bend Tribune.

 

Central Collection has since notified the businesses of the theft, the AP reported.

 

Information about nearly 700,000 people stored on the server included some Social Security numbers, according to the article. Data was password-protected, but not encrypted.

 

St. Vincent Health System has not used the agency for more than three years, so billing data for its patients is several years out of date, according to the AP.

 

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