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Last Updated: Jun 30, 2008 - 11:14:37 AM |
SUNDAY April 12, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A Manhattan hospital said Friday an employee may have stolen patient personal information such as the names, phone numbers and in some cases social security numbers of up to 40,000 patients, New York Daily News reported.
The privacy bleach at New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell was uncovered during a federal investigation and an internal audit, the hospital was cited as saying.
No patient medical information was stolen though, according to the report. Also the hospital did not receive any report saying any patient had suffered a financial fraud or other scam due to the thefts, Myrna Manners, hospital spokeswoman was cited saying.
The hospital could not disclose who stole the data or how the privacy breach occurred, Manners said. But evidence suggested the records of patients treated in the past two years might have fallen in the hands of a "large criminal enterprise".
The Manhattan hospital said it is contacting all 40,000 patients and offering credit card monitoring for those who worried about possible financial frauds.
Patient privacy breach in hospitals is a real problem. Los Angeles Times reported yesterday non-physicians at UCLA had access to medical records and it is easy for workers to look at patients' medical records.
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