UCLA Health System issues warning about stolen patient information

The UCLA Health System has released a warning that personal patient information may have been compromised after a home burglary in early September, according to a statement on Friday.

An external hard drive containing information for more than 16,000 patients was stolen during the burglary of a physician’s home on Sept. 6. The information was dated from July 2007 to July 2011, officials said.

Social security numbers and financial information were not among the documents stolen, but they did include first and last names and may have contained birth dates, medical record numbers, addresses and medical record information, according to the statement.

The health system does not believe information has been accessed or misused, but they have partnered with a data security company to help those whose personal information may have been affected by the incident, according to the statement.

Police were contacted about the theft, but the external hard drive has not yet been recovered.

While the external hard drive was encrypted, a piece paper of paper containing the password that was lying near the hard drive is also missing, officials said.

The physician called the health system the following day about the incident, but the system did not notify patients until now because it was identifying and finding addresses for the patients, according to the statement.

UCLA Health System said in the statement it is reviewing policies and procedures to determine if any revisions must be made to reduce the likelihood of this kind of incident.

Compiled by Kylie Reynolds, Bruin senior staff.

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