business
Patient data lands on public website
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 19, 2011
The personal information of more than 20,000 emergency department patients at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., found its way onto a public website where it remained for nearly a year until it was discovered in August.
The hospital said a spreadsheet containing names, diagnosis codes, hospital account numbers and admissions and discharge data that was being used by a subcontractor working for one of its vendors made its way onto a public website called Student of Fortune. The website allows students to solicit paid assistance with their school work. The hospital, and the vendor, are investigating how the information landed there.
No Social Security numbers, credit card information or birthdates were included, but the hospital is offering identity theft protection to the affected patients, all of whom were seen at the hospital's ED between March 1 and Aug. 31, 2009. The hospital said the incident was caused by no fault of its own and that the subcontractor has assumed responsibility.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/09/19/bibf0919.htm.
