Community Corner

Patient Data Missing from Emory Healthcare

Emory officials have launched an investigation into the problem.

Information about 315,000 surgical patients is missing from an storage location.

Backup discs with data from September 1990 through April 2007 went missing in late February, Emory Healthcare officials said Wednesday.

About 220,000 of the files contained Social Security numbers of patients from Emory Hospital, Emory Hospital Midtown (then Crawford Long) and Emory Clinic Surgical Center.

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According to officials, the data and discs are not readable on a computer and are only compatible with a system the group no longer uses.

There has been "no actual or attempted breach or hacking" into any Emory Healthcare electronic medical records, John T. Fox, president and CEO of Emory Healthcare, said.

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An Emory Healthcare employee notified administrators in late February, and an investigation was launched.

Officials believe the data was lost or removed between February 7, 2012 and February 20, 2012.

The data includes the patients name, date of surgery, diagnosis and name of the doctor who performed the procedure, among other information.

Emory Healthcare will provide free access to identification protection services to all patients affected. Letters have been sent to patients whose identity may have been compromised.


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