Los Angeles healthcare data breach reveals info for 33,000 patients

Contributed by Roumiana Deltcheva (Friday, September 24, 2010) | Category : Email security

A recent data breach at a major Los Angeles hospital has put personal information of 33,000 patients at risk, according to CMIO.net.

After names, addresses, medical record numbers and finance batch numbers were leaked, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Departments began notifying patients at the Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center in South Los Angeles of the potential risks associated with the data leak. However, none of the documents contained any specific medical information or sensitive financial information such as Social Security numbers.

Data loss is sensitive in the healthcare sector, as the extensive data could put patients at risk for identity theft or insurance fraud.

In addition to contacting its patients, which the provider began doing immediately, the news provider reports administrators at the facility have begun searching for enhanced security measures to prevent future data loss.

For major organizations, data-leak prevention has become an important tool to safeguard sensitive information.

Data loss seems to happen too often in the healthcare sector as well. Earlier this summer, a hospital near Boston, Massachusetts released information pertaining to nearly 800,000 patients. The facility is still facing legal ramifications.