Breach, Data Security

Veterans’ patient information found in recycle bin

The personal information of more than 1,000 military veterans who were patients at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Fayetteville, N.C., was exposed after a hospital employee improperly disposed of the records.

How many victims? 1,093.

What type of personal information? Names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and prescriptions.

What happened? On April 17, the sensitive data belonging to patients of the hospital's optical shop was improperly disposed and found in a recycle bin. According to a release by the hospital, officials believe the documents were there for more than a three-month period.

What was the response? Veterans who visited the optical shop between Jan. 11 and April 16 were notified of the breach by the hospital. Additionally, they were offered free credit monitoring services.

Details: According to the hospital, officials believe that the information was not misused. The employee who handles patient records has been retrained on how items should be disposed of.

Source: www.abclocal.go.com, WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham, “North Carolina veteran's personal data left in recycle bin,” June 14, 2013.

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