Breach, Data Security

Stolen thumb drive contained five years of data on nearly 34K Calif. patients

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Nearly 34,000 patients who received X-ray services at California-based Redwood Regional Medical Group are being notified that their personal information was on a thumb drive that was stolen from an employee's locker.

How many victims? 33,702. 

What type of personal information? Names, dates of birth, genders, medical record numbers, dates and times of service, areas of body X-rayed, X-ray technologist names, and radiation levels required to produce the X-ray.

What happened? A thumb drive containing the data was stolen from an employee's locker.

What was the response? The incident was reported to officials and law enforcement, and an investigation is ongoing. Redwood Regional Medical Group is implementing new procedures, such as adding security personnel and an alarm system, as well as changing protocols for handling data. All impacted individuals are being notified, and offered free access to credit monitoring and identity theft protection services.

Details: The thumb drive was stolen on June 2 from an unlocked employee locker. The data related to patients who received X-ray services from Feb. 2, 2009, to May 13.

Source: pressdemocrat.com, The Press Democrat, “Health records of nearly 34,000 patients stolen from Santa Rosa office,” June 11, 2014.

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