#DallasNews.com Top Stories DallasNews.com Local News DallasNews.com Sports News | Get the Newspaper * Member Center * | * My Profile * | * Newsletters * | * Subscriber Services * | * Special Offers * | * Contests & Events [traffic_weather_bluearrow.jpg] Traffic [traffic_weather_bluearrow.jpg] Weather: Scattered Clouds, 72° [home_button_brandnew.jpg] ____________________ [dallasnews.com....] [search_brandnew.jpg]-Submit [websearch_brandnew.jpg]-Submit Local/News * Columnists * Blogs/Chats/Forums * Nation/World * Texas/Southwest * City by City * Investigations * Gas Price Tips * Education * Religion * Elections * Obituaries * Databases * Lottery Sports * Scores/Stats * Columnists * Blogs/Chats/Forums * Dallas Cowboys * NFL * Olympics * Texas Rangers/MLB * Dallas Mavericks/NBA * Dallas Stars/NHL * Colleges * High Schools * FC Dallas/MLS * Motor Sports * Golf * More Weather * Blog * Regional Radar * City by City * Weather Maps * National Weather * Weather Cams * Tropical Storms * Ski Reports * Get Weather Alerts * Get Desktop Weather * Star Charts Traffic * Cameras * Gas price tips * Get personalized alerts * Traffic/transportation news Business * Columnists * Blogs * Personal Finance * Personal Tech * Stocks * Airlines * Auto News * Residential Real Estate * Commercial Real Estate * Other Industries * Workplace/Features * Jobs Entertainment * Columnists * Blogs * News/Events * Restaurants * Movies * Music/Nightclubs * Arts * Buy Tickets * Television * Books * Best in DFW * Celebrity News * Comics/Games * Attractions * Visitors Guide * Reviews Life/Travel * Columnists * Blogs * Shopping News * Food * Travel * Style/Fashion * Weddings * Pets * Home/Gardening * Health * Money Saving Tips * Gas Price Tips * Green Living Opinion * Columnists * Blog * Editorials * Op-Ed * Community Opinions * Letters to the Editor * Sunday Commentary * North-South Dallas Project * Ask the Editor * Political Forums/Tools Photos/Video * Photos * Video * Interactives * Photos for Sale * Reprint Requests * View/Submit Your Photos * View/Submit Your Video Shop Shopping Browse All Ads Place an Ad Find Tickets Keyword: ________ [mk_go_button_small.gif]-Submit Health Your Health Matters Autos [spacer.gif] Buy a Car Sell a Car Find a Dealer Rec Vehicle Guide Hot Auto Deals Browse Printed Ads Homes Find a Home Sell a Home Rentals New Construction Neighborhoods Video Tours Luxury Homes Jobs Job Seekers Find a Job Sign In Register Employers Post a Job Sign In Contact Us Career Events Classifieds/Place Ad Shop/Buy Services/Notices Browse Classifieds Celebrations Browse | Place Sign Up for Special Offers LOCAL/NEWS Top Stories Columnists * Norma Adams-Wade * Steve Blow * Jacquielynn Floyd * Gromer Jeffers Jr. * Mercedes Olivera * James Ragland [pixel.gif] Blogs/Chats/Forums * Metro Blog * Politics/Election Blog * Religion Blog * Education Blog * Dallas City Hall Blog * Live Chats * Crime Blog [pixel.gif] Nation/World * Science/Medicine * Washington/Politics * Mexico * Texas War Dead * Gas Price Tips [pixel.gif] Texas/Southwest * Mexico * Todd Gillman Columns * Wayne Slater Columns * Texas War Dead * Gas Price Tips * Dallas City Hall Blog * Politics/Election Blog * Crime Blog [pixel.gif] City by City * Gas Price Tips * Metro Blog * Politics/Election Blog * Religion Blog * Education Blog * Dallas City Hall Blog * Opinion Blog * Weather Blog * NeighborsGo Blog * Crime Blog [pixel.gif] Investigations * Watchdog Columns * Crime Blog [pixel.gif] Gas Price Tips [pixel.gif] Education * Education Blog * Research Texas Schools * TAKS Scores * Research Colleges [pixel.gif] Religion * Religion Blog [pixel.gif] Elections * Trail Blazers Blog * Washington/Politics * Voter Guide * Dallas City Hall Blog [pixel.gif] Obituaries * Obituary Archive * Deaths in the News [pixel.gif] Databases [pixel.gif] Lottery Advertising DallasNews.com Comments | Recommended [check_icon.gif] [email_icon_whitebk.gif] Email [print_icon_whitebk.gif] Print [rss_icon_story.gif] RSS [myyahoo.gif] Social Bookmarking Baylor Health Care says laptop with patient data stolen 07:55 AM CST on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 By JASON ROBERSON / The Dallas Morning News jroberson@dallasnews.com A laptop computer containing limited health information on 100,000 patients was stolen from an employee's car in September, Baylor Health Care System Inc. said Monday. A letter is being sent to the patients, including 7,400 patients whose Social Security numbers were stored on the computer. Dr. David Winter, chairman of Baylor subsidiary HealthTexas Provider Network, said it could have been worse. "Fortunately, the laptop did not contain comprehensive patient medical records, and, according to law enforcement officials, it is rare that incidents such as this result in identity theft," Dr. Winter said. The data consisted of names of patients and medical codes relating to the treatment they received. The codes are a series of numbers requiring a medical code book to interpret, said Nikki Mitchell, a Baylor spokeswoman. Baylor said it was in the process of upgrading its data security before the laptop theft and it had started installing a new technology that would allow it to track laptops and remotely erase data, if necessary. Baylor is offering a $1,000 reward for the return of the laptop, which was stolen from a manager's car between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. on Sept. 18 or 19 in Royse City. It was within the manager's job description to visit Baylor locations collecting patient data on the laptop, but she was fired because leaving the laptop in her car broke protocol, Ms. Mitchell said. "We take situations like this very seriously," Ms. Mitchell said. Baylor is offering free credit-monitoring services to patients whose Social Security numbers were on the laptop. It also set up a toll-free number, 1-800-554-5281, to respond to questions between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This is not the first medical data breach in North Texas. In September 2007, Texas Health Resources Inc., the largest hospital system in North Texas, sent letters to 8,000 patients after discovering an employee misused one patient's credit card information. The company traced the problem to a temporary worker in its Garland office that handles patient billing. The worker was fired the following day and arrested on Sept. 14, 2007, according to a THR spokesman. Electronic audit logs show the worker had access to about 8,000 patient billing records. THR said it does not store credit card numbers in its system, and they are only available for a moment at the time of a transaction, meaning the worker had to write or record the credit card information elsewhere. 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