Patients Notified of Missing Hard Drive
The Department of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai notified 610 patients on October 21, 2013 that a physician's USB hard drive containing patient information was reported missing. .
The department expressed regret and advised the patients that it is unlikely they are at risk of identity theft as neither their social security numbers nor addresses were included. Patients with questions, or any evidence of actual identity theft were advised to contact Mount Sinai at 1-212-241-6981. As a precaution the department advised patients to obtain a credit check by visiting the www.annualcreditreport.com website or by calling 1-877-322-8228.
The drive included a log of endoscopy procedures performed between July 2011 and January 2013 that included the date of procedures, patient last name and medical record number, and brief information about the type of procedure and findings. For a small number of patients, correspondence including full name and date of birth with medical history was included. For a small number of patients the drive also contained internal procedural images, where patients could not be identified visually.
Mount Sinai discovered on August 22, 2013 that the drive was missing. Despite a thorough search, the drive could not be located. An investigation could not determine if the drive was stolen or misplaced. The drive was not encrypted or password protected, in violation of policy. Mount Sinai is taking appropriate actions to address the failure to follow policy with the physician regarding the failure to follow policy and is reporting this matter to the appropriate agencies as required by applicable law. The department is instituting additional procedures to ensure all staff take appropriate steps to ensure security and privacy of patient information.
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Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
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