Documents for a local hospital were found on the side of a rural roadway, and the information about almost three thousand patients may have been compromised.
Officials with Saint Thomas Rutherford notified 2,859 patients about the breach which was discovered in April.
Hospital representatives said the documents did not contain social security numbers or patient medical records.
Those documents were found on a roadside in DeKalb County.
Reports stated the documents contained patients’ names, dates of birth, admitting diagnoses, account numbers, and physicians’ names.
Authorities said the investigation had not yet revealed who may be responsible.
“Protecting the privacy of our patient’s information is always a top priority for us at Saint Thomas Health and Ascension,” said Cynthia Figaro, Corporate Responsibility Officer and Corporate Privacy Officer, Saint Thomas Health. “Once we were made aware of this breach, we immediately investigated the incident to ensure that no further disclosures were made. Based on our investigation, we do not believe that there is a financial risk to our patients. We sincerely apologize for this incident.”
Officials said they’ve contracted a vendor that will ensure “all storage files are properly secured and accounted for until destruction.”
Any patients with questions have been asked to call the hospital toll-free at 1-844-310-2955.
