Catholic health system works to lessen impact of security breach

Published: 2006-02-22

PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) -- Seeking to head off financial damage to 365,000 patients whose confidential information was stolen late last year, Providence Health System has vowed to pay for a series of services, including credit monitoring and restoration. The decision came after affected patients complained about the extra work they are facing because of the theft. The case involves the records of patients in Oregon and Washington who received home-based health care through Providence Home Services. Information going back as far as 1987 was on computer backup disks and tapes in a case stolen from the car of a Providence employee in a Portland suburb. The theft was reported Dec. 31 last year. Stolen data include Social Security numbers, clinical and demographic information and, in a few cases, patient financial data. The disks and tapes also included some information about current and past employees of Providence Home Services. Providence Health System, based in Portland, was founded by the Sisters of Providence in the 1850s.

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