Breach Report: Lost Flash Drive at Kaiser Permanente Affects 49,000 Patients
A flash drive went missing at Kaiser Permanente’s Anaheim Medical Center in Orange County, Calif., prompting the Oakland-based healthcare giant to notify 49,000 patients whose data was stored on the device.
The drive went missing within the hospital's nuclear medicine department. According to a press release from Kaiser Permanente, the drive included the name, date of birth, medical record number, and the type and amount of a specific medication of the patients. It did not include financial or Social Security information.
The information was not encrypted or password protected, but must be accessed through specific database management software. It is asking patients to review all of their statements to ensure no fraudulent use of their medical information has taken place.
Horizon Blue Cross Laptops Stolen
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (BCBSNJ) had two password-protected, unencrypted laptop computers containing protected health information on potentially 839,711 members from its Newark headquarters during the weekend of Nov. 1, 2013.
BCBSNJ says the laptops may have contained differing amounts of member information, including name and demographic information (e.g., address, member identification number, date of birth), and in some instances, a Social Security number and/or limited clinical information.
Officials say there is no reason to believe the computers were stolen for the information they contained or that any member information has been used inappropriately.
