Defense Department suffers one of worst ever ID theft cases
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, January 10, 2003
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The theft last month of computer hard drives containing more than 500,000 records with Social Security numbers, medical claims histories, and other private information could become one of the largest identity thefts on record if the information is misused, according to Fox News.
Thieves took computer equipment and files during a December 14 break-in at TriWest, an Arizona-based defense contractor that provides managed health care for military personnel in 16 states, according to authorities.
The Department of Defense (DOD) is currently building a network to computerize the entire military health care system, including the patient records of 8.7 million service members, retirees, and their families who receive medical care under Pentagon programs. The DOD is planning to roll out the project at up to seven military hospitals across the country after successfully testing at four locations.
The TriWest computers, which included information gathered for military health care, including names, addresses, medical claim histories, and a small number of credit card numbers, have no connection to the larger project.
Go to http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,74243,00.html to read more.
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