About 450K patients affected by security breaches in 2010

Since February, 24 security breaches affecting 500 or more individuals have been reported to the Office for Civil Rights. For the year, a total of 54 breaches have been reported, affecting about 449,008 individuals.

As required by the HITECH Act, the Department of Health and Human Services secretary must post a list of breaches of unsecured protected health information affecting 500 or more individuals.

The following breaches have been reported to the secretary since February:

• Occupational Health Partners (May 12) in Kansas: approximately 1,105 affected, theft of a laptop;
• Oconee Physician Practices (May 9) in South Carolina: approximately 653 affected, theft of a laptop;
• VA North Texas HealthCare System (May 4) in Texas: approximately 4,083 affected, improper disposal of paper records;
• A private practice (May 2) in Michigan: approximately 2,300 affected, theft of a laptop;
• Veterans Health Administration (April 22) in Washington D.C.: approximately 656 affected, theft of a laptop;
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (April 19) in Tennessee: approximately 1,745 affected, loss of a laptop;
• University of Rochester Medical Center Affiliates (April 19) in New York: approximately 2,628 affected;
• Rainbow Hospice and Palliative Care (April 12) in Ilinois: approximately 1,000 affected, theft of a laptop;
• Loma Linda University HealthCare (April 4) in California: approximately 584 affected, theft of a desktop computer;
• A private practice (April 3) in Texas: approximately 4,200 affected, theft of a laptop;
• Silicon Valley Eyecare Optometry and Contact Lenses (April 2) in California: approximately 40,000 affected, theft of a network server;
• Our Lady of Peace Hospital (March 31) in Kentucky: approximately 24,600 affect, theft and/or loss of a portable electronic device;
• Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (March 27) in Ohio: approximately 60,998 affected, theft of a laptop;
• Georgetown University Hospital (March 26) in Washington D.C.: approximately 2,416 affected, theft of e-mail and/or portable electronic device;
• Medical Center at Bowling Green (March 24) in Kentucky: approximately 5,418 affected, theft of a portable electronic device;
• TennCare (March 20) in Tennessee: approximately 10,515 affected, theft of a laptop;
• State of New Mexico Human Services Department, Medical Assistance Division (March 20) in New Mexico: approximately 9,600 affected, theft of a laptop;
• Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center (March 19) in Nebraska: approximately 660 affected;
• Tomah Memorial Hospital (March 19) in Wisconsin: approximately 600 affected;
• Rockbridge Area Community Services (March 12) in Lexington, Va.: approximately 500 affected, theft of a laptop and/or desktop computer;
• University of Pittsburgh Student Health Center (March 11) in Pennsylvania: approximately 8,000 affected, theft and/or loss of paper records;
• Mount Sinai Medical Center (March 9) in Florida: approximately 2,600 affected, theft and/or unauthorized access of a laptop;
• St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare (March 6) in California: approximately 22,012 affected, theft of a desktop computer; and
• Hypertension, Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, PC (March 6) in Alabama: approximately 2,024 affected, theft of a laptop.