Beth Israel pays $100K to settle breach claims

BOSTON – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston will pay $100,000 and take steps to prevent future security violations to settle allegations related to a data breach that affected patient information, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced last month.
The consent judgment alleges that Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center failed to protect the personal and protected health information of nearly 4,000 patients and employees.
According to the complaint against the center, in May 2012, an unauthorized person gained access to a hospital physician’s unlocked office on campus and stole an unencrypted personal laptop sitting unattended on a desk. The laptop was not hospital-issued but was used by the physician with Beth Israel knowledge and authorization on a regular basis for hospital-related business.
The device contained the protected health information of 3,796 patients and employees as well as the personal information of 194 Massachusetts residents, of which 192 were Beth Israel employees. The information included names, Social Security numbers and medical information. •

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