Medical Records Room Accessed But Not Ransacked in Burglary

North Lincoln County Community Health Center Clinic in Newport, Ore., is notifying about 950 patients after a break-in that included forced access into a secure storage room containing patient medical files.

“Money was taken from the clinic but it appears no other records or materials were removed,” according to a notice from the clinic, operated by Lincoln County in Oregon. “No electronic devices were taken or accessed. However, the locked room which contains medical charts for our clients was breached.”

A couple chart files were on the floor, and could have been left there by a staff member, but no files were missing and an investigation determined records weren’t what the thieves were looking for, says Wayne Belmont, county counsel. The clinic is advising affected patients on how to monitor their credit, prevent identity theft and put a freeze or fraud alert on their credit files, but is not offering paid credit or identity protection services. “It didn’t reach the level we thought would require paid services,” Belmont adds.