Home » UK hospital tells 1,079 former patients that a laptop computer with their medical records was stolen

UK hospital tells 1,079 former patients that a laptop computer with their medical records was stolen

By Kentucky Health News

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 26, 2014) — UK reported Wednesday that personal health information of 1,079 people who had been patients at its hospital was on a laptop computer that was stolen in early February.

UK HealthCare said the computer, which was password-protected, belonged to one of its pharmacy billing management vendors. The computer contained dates of birth, medical records and perhaps some patients’ insurance carriers and ID numbers, but not Social Security numbers or bank information, UK said.

“We have no reason to believe at this time that any data has been compromised, but under federal privacy regulations we are required to notify people whose information was on the computer in question,” UK spokesman Jay Blanton said. “We are also notifying those individuals directly about what has occurred. In that communication, we provide information about where people can contact UK HealthCare for further information.” For coverage from WKYT-TV, click here.

Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.