Patients Notified after Paper Records Stolen

Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., has notified 858 patients of a breach after their paper records were stolen from the car of a physician.

In a statement, the hospital identified the physician as Bindu Vanapalli, M.D., an independent contractor working in the emergency department, and noted that removal of patient information from the hospital violates policy and un-specified disciplinary action has been taken.

The theft occurred on Dec. 27, 2013. Compromised information in the records included name, date of birth and medical record number. To date, there is no indication that the information has been misused, according to the hospital.

While Social Security numbers, financial information and addresses were not on the papers, the hospital is offering affected patients up to two years of credit monitoring services. “We chose to offer credit protection to provide reassurance to affected patients that we are doing everything within our power to protect their privacy,” a spokesperson tells Health Data Management. “The service is being offered through one of the national credit protection agencies.”