Health Information Management

Another VA computer missing

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, November 6, 2006

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A computer containing the information of 1,600 veterans disappeared from the New York campus of the Veterans Affairs (VA) New York Harbor Healthcare System, The New York Times reports. The incident is the third case this year involving compromised VA data.

The computer stored patients' names, Social Security numbers, and results from a pulmonary-testing device. Hospital staff noticed it missing from a locked storage room in September. The organization sent a letter informing veterans of the possible theft in October and offered one year of free credit monitoring to the victims of the breach, according to The Times.

A VA laptop theft in May put more than 26 million veterans at risk of identity theft. Additional information on 16,000 veterans disappeared in August when a thief stole a desktop computer from Pennsylvania-based Unisys, a VA subcontractor. The VA recovered both missing machines.

Click here to read The Times article.



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