U. of Miss. Medical Center reports breach

The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson recently posted a website statement to notify patients of a breach of health and personal data.

Medical center officials learned on Jan. 22 that a password-protected laptop used by UMMC clinicians in a non-public, patient-care area had gone missing. The laptop, which has not been retrieved, contained information relating to adult patients seen at UMMC between 2008 and January 2013, including names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, diagnoses, medications, treatments and other clinical information.

Federal and state laws require that healthcare organizations alert patients when there is a potential breach of their personal information, although UMMC administrators stated in a news release release that they do not believe the data “has actually been viewed, accessed, used or disclosed.” So far, no current or former patients have notified the medical center of any unauthorized use of their information related to this incident.