Billing Records of Over 2 Million Utah Patients Stolen
The University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics has recently released information on a data theft involving billing records of 2.2 million patients. The information was stolen from a vehicle after a courier failed to immediately take them to a storage center.
According to Kutv.com quoting Lorris Betz, senior vice president for health sciences, the records, described only as backup information tapes, contained Social Security numbers of 1.3 million people treated at the university over the last 16 years. The Senior vice president also stated people would be notified by a letter, action that will cost $500,000 for stamps and envelopes. The hospital has also pledged free credit monitoring and is now offering a $1,000 reward for the records.
Authorities declined to say how easy or difficult it would be to read the records. They refused to describe the format or whether the information was on a disk. The sheriff believes the thief probably thought the box contained money.
