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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Health records lost, stolen or revealed online

Health privacy problems persist a decade after law went into effect to protect patients

By Deborah Shelton
Chicago Tribune Reporter
Originally published April 23, 2012

Almost a decade after a new law went into effect to strengthen health privacy protections, the number of breaches of patient records and databases across the U.S. suggests that personal health information is not as private or secure as many consumers might want or expect.

Since fall 2009, more than 400 large health care breaches affecting at least 500 people and more than 50,000 smaller breaches have been reported to the federal government.

One of the largest unauthorized disclosures in recent history of medical records and other private information happened in September, when computer tapes were stolen that contained data on almost 5 million people enrolled in TRICARE, the nation's health program for military members, their families and retirees.