The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is facing a public controversy after a donor pitch letter inadvertently exposed the former patients' Social Security numbers. The letter, which went out to about 6,000 former patients earlier this month, included a tracking code that integrated the SSN. The code was visible through the envelope window. Critics call the inclusion of the SSN a serious mishap, arguing that it could expose the 6,000 recipients to identity theft. UPMC denies that there's any major risk, but still sent out a letter to the 6,000 potential donors offering credit monitoring for one year to any of them that requested it.
To learn more about the mishap:
- read this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette piece [1]
PLUS: UPMC president Jeffrey Romoff got a 17 percent raise in 2006, collecting $3.3 million for his efforts. Article [2]
Related Articles:
UPMC patient data exposed on website. Report [3]
Johns Hopkins loses patient, employee data. Report [4]
Massive data loss at HCA. Report [5]
Allina suffers patient data theft. Report [6]
Links:
[1] http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07142/787898-28.stm
[2] http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/viewcontent/89795.html
[3] http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/u-of-pittsburgh-patient-data-exposed/2007-04-16
[4] http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/johns-hopkins-loses-patient-employee-data/2007-02-12
[5] http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/massive-data-loss-at-hca/2006-08-21
[6] http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/allina-suffers-patient-data-theft/2006-10-23