A thumb drive containing more than 33,700 patient records was stolen from an outpatient radiology facility in Santa Rosa, California, earlier this month, St. Joseph Health of Sonoma County officials announced Thursday, according to CBS5 KPIX. The drive was taken from a staff member's locker at the former Redwood Regional Medical Group's office. The back-up X-ray records were being prepared for transfer to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital's electronic health record.
The stolen records included patients' first and last names, gender, medical record number, date of birth and area of the body X-rayed, among other medical information. The theft was discovered on June 3 and reported to the California Department of Public Health on June 9. Santa Rosa mailed personal letters to patients affected by the theft. Hospital officials do not have any indication that the information was used in an unauthorized or improper manner.
"Following this burglary, we immediately heightened security measures and training at our new Sotoyome Drive facility, and are committed to preventing such an intrusion from happening again," Todd Salnas, president of St. Joseph Health in Sonoma County, said. Article