Laptops with medical data stolen
The theft of two laptops containing sensitive health information about more than 5,000 patients in the John Muir hospital system is just one of a number of recent incidents involving stolen medical data.
John Muir Health on Monday began notifying 5,450 women that their health information may have been compromised after the laptops were stolen in February from John Muir's perinatal clinic in Walnut Creek. The laptops have never been recovered, but John Muir officials said there's been no evidence that the data, which was password protected but not encrypted, has been accessed.
In January, UCSF officials revealed that thieves stole a medical school employee's laptop from a plane on Nov. 30, 2009. The laptop was recovered in Southern California in early January. UCSF officials notified 4,400 patients about the breach.
