Stolen Computer May Put Identities Of Patients At Risk
JEANNETTE (KDKA) -- A computer stolen from a hospital may have put the identities of patients at risk.
Officials with Excela Health say they sent a letter to patients who visited its Jeannette campus to let them know that a computer had been stolen from radiology.
The computer contained names, birth dates and exam information, but Excela says no financial data or social security numbers.
However, it is still not going over well with affected patients.
"[I'm] really frustrated with this. I'm unemployed and all I need is what little money I have left in the bank to be stolen off of me and I'm done," said Brian Przyby, a patient. "As a hospital, I don't think that this stuff should be that easily stolen, that easily accessed."
Excela Health is also offering to pay for 12 months of free access to an identity protection and credit monitoring service for the patients who were affected.
Excela Health released a statement that reads: "Recently, we discovered that a computer from the radiology department of our Jeannette campus was missing. After a thorough security review, we concluded it had been stolen.
"The computer contained some limited patient information such as name, date of birth and type of exam performed. No financial data or Social Security Numbers were stored on the missing computer.
"We believe the risk of inappropriate access to the data in this situation is extremely low because specialized medical software would be needed to retrieve the information. Even so, Excela Health is committed to safeguarding our patients' personal information.
"Letters have been sent to the impacted patients, and we are offering them 12 months of free access to an identity protection and credit monitoring service.
"We regret this incident because our high standards for protecting patient information were not met. We are taking steps to ensure an incident like this does not happen again."
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