Source:
Washington PostA government laptop computer containing sensitive medical information on 2,500 patients enrolled in a National Institutes of Health study was stolen in February, potentially exposing seven years' worth of clinical trial data, including names, medical diagnoses and details of the patients' heart scans. The information was not encrypted, in violation of the government's data-security policy.
NIH officials made no public comment about the theft and did not send letters notifying the affected patients of the breach until last Thursday -- almost a month later. They said they hesitated because of concerns that they would provoke undue alarm.
The handling of the incident is reminiscent of a 2006 theft from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee of a laptop with personal information about veterans and active-duty service members. In that case, VA officials waited 19 days before announcing the theft.
"The shocking part here is we now have personally identifiable information -- name and age -- linked to clinical data," said Leslie Harris, executive director of the Center for Democracy & Technology. "If somebody does not want to share the fact that they're in a clinical trial or the fact they've got a heart disease, this is very, very serious. The risk of identity theft and of revealing highly personal information about your health are closely linked here."
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/23/AR2008032301753_pf.html