Breaches of Health Information Reported

In accordance with the HITEC Act, revelations have surfaced of breaches of unsecured  protected health information. The following are just a small portion of those incidents reported to the Health and Human Services Secretary. The full report can be found here.

• AvMed, Inc.  (12/09): Laptop theft at AvMed, Inc., the Florida-based health plan, affected 359,000 individuals.
• Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (12/09): Kaiser Permanente's Medical Care Program in California experienced the theft of portable electronic devices that affected 15,500 individuals.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee (10/09): Hard drive theft at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee affected 500,000 individuals.
• Shands at University of Florida (1/10): Shands at the University of Florida, a non-profit hospital specializing in the care of critically ill patients, experienced a theft of laptops that affected 12,580 individuals.
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (10/09): Laptop theft affecting 943 individuals occurred at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the pediatric hospital and research facility in Pennsylvania.
• Private Practice (9/09): Two private practices in Torrance, CA experienced the theft of desktop computers each affecting more than 5,000 individuals.
• University of California, San Francisco (11/09): Laptop theft affecting 7,300 individuals occurred at the medical center of University of California, San Francisco.
• Blue Island Radiology Consultants, Illinois (12/09): The loss of backup tapes affected 2,562 individuals.
• Children's Medical Center of Dallas (11/09): The loss of portable electronic devices affected 3,800 individuals at the Children's Medical Center of Dallas.
• Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion (11/09): The Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion experienced the theft of portable electronic devices that affected 10,000 individuals.
• City of Hope National Medical Center (9/09): Laptop theft affecting 5,900 individuals occurred at City of Hope National Medical Center, the California-based cancer center.