MyLaptopGPS

Oregon Health and Science University reported a laptop theft earlier this week. Apparently an employee, who traveled to Chicago, had left the laptop unprotected in a hotel room. As it was easily accessible, the laptop was stolen.

Now OHSU is mailing about 890 patients, whose information was stored on the laptop, detailing the theft. Jim Newman, the OHSU media contact, remarked, “The laptop was password-protected, and officials are unsure how much patient information was left undeleted on the hard drive” (as written in Peter Korn’s article at The Outlook Online). He also noted that the laptop did not contain Social Security numbers, diagnoses or treatments for any of the patients.

However, the laptop did contain patient names, telephone numbers, birth dates, medical diagnoses and treatment categories.

The laptop was password protected, and OHSU officials agree that the information stored on the laptop would not be enough for the theft of any patients identities. However, the information could be used to call OHSU and retrieve further information on a patient. In preparation, the hospital has flagged all of the names, so if a call is made regarding any of the approximately 890 patients, it will be monitored and authenticated.

OHSU officials noted that this theft was not targeted, in their opinions, because another laptop and other personal items were also stolen. Newman suggested that the hard drives were probably wiped clean and sold for profit.

Though Newman seems optimistic, the entire situation would definitely put my back up. Had OHSU been prepared with technology like MyLaptopGPS laptop tracking, all 890 patients could rest easy tonight knowing exactly where their information was.