Hospital Employee Loses Info on 25K Patients
OTTAWA — Officials at Montfort Hospital have issued an apology letter to its patients after a hospital employee lost an unsecured USB data key that contained information on more than 25,000 individuals.
The data key contained basic information, such as a patient’s name, summary data relating to the type of service patients received, date of service and a code referring to the patient’s doctor. No other personal information, such as home addresses or personal banking information, were on the USB drive, The Ottawa Citizen reports.
The employee who lost the data key was in violation of hospital security policy when she took it home to do some extra work over the weekend. However, she lost the USB drive between the hospital and her home. When she could not locate it, she contacted her supervisors to report the data key missing. The employee is back at work and was not suspended or otherwise penalized.
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