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THEFT OF VA COMPUTER HARD DRIVE PUTS DOCTOR
AT RISK -- "I find out the government that
lowers the
boom on privacy has no privacy itself."
Story here...
http://www.times-news.com/
local/local_story_125220054.html
Story below:
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Theft of VA computer hard drive puts local
doctor at risk
Daleen Berry
Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND - A local doctor is more than miffed that she may be at risk
for identify fraud, after a computer hard drive with sensitive
information was stolen from the Birmingham (Ala.) Veterans
Administration Medical Center.
"I feel like I have been bludgeoned with HIPAA and privacy regulations
and then I find out the government that lowers the boom on privacy has
no privacy itself," Dr. Heather Peirce, a Cumberland endocrinologist,
said. Peirce was referring to the federal Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act that is designed to protect patients' personal
information.
Peirce recently re-ceived word via an official form letter from the
Department of Veterans Affairs that a portable hard drive missing from
the Alabama medical site may have contained her Social Security number -
but the theft occurred more than three months ago. The lapse in time
also has Peirce upset, who said the public "should be notified right
away when something like that happens."
Peirce is probably no more upset than the high-level officials who are
clamoring for answers about this most recent VA faux pas. As reported in
a Feb. 12 article in The Birmingham News, U.S. Reps. Artur Davis and
Spencer Bachus, as well as U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, all of Alabama, are
outraged that less than one year after data on 26.5 million veterans was
reported stolen, the VA is still not encrypting its information.
"None of the data given to the VA was encrypted," Peirce said.
The VA was informed of the theft of the external hard drive Jan. 23, one
day after it was discovered missing. The hard drive was used to back up
information contained on a VA employee's office computer related to
research projects with which the employee was involved.
A file on the portable hard drive has billing information for 1.3
million doctors and included information from the 2004 Unique Physician
Identification Number Directory. Obtained from the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services for the purpose of conducting research on
veterans' health care, it also contained data on more than 500,000 war
vets.
Peirce said this highlights the problems with storing sensitive
information on computers. "Anyone could break into an office computer
and everything could be accessed." As a result, Peirce said, "my whole
office is paper ... I am not - not - going to computerize. I will take
it to the Supreme Court ... There's nothing more private than paper
records kept in one location."
Frustrated and weary from trying to get answers, Peirce complained about
telephone numbers the VA provided that only take her to an automated
voice system. When they do lead to a real person, the doctor said the
woman on the other end of the phone "read by rote" a prepared statement,
and wouldn't answer any of Peirce's questions.
The incident remains under investigation as the VA Office of Inspector
General and the FBI, along with a separate review by the VA Office of
Information and Technology, are on the case. An administrative review is
being conducted by the VA, according to a Feb. 2 article published by
Media General News Service.
As the investigation continues, the VA is notifying individuals that
their personal information may have been on the missing hard drive. That
April 27 letter told Peirce that free credit monitoring is being
provided to potential victims.
"VA will contact you shortly by mail to offer a credit monitoring
service at no cost to you. In the meantime, one precaution we recommend
is for you to request a free credit report from one or more of the three
national credit bureaus," the letter read.
"We at VA take information security and privacy very seriously. We
apologize for any inconvenience or concern this situation may cause, but
we believe it is important for you to be fully informed of any potential
risk to you," the letter concluded.
Jo Schuda of the VA's Office of Public Affairs said that 664,165 medical
providers are at potential risk from the theft of information.
"If the government that is telling you you have to have HIPAA gives away
your information, (then) it can't protect you," Peirce said.
Other area doctors who were contacted were not aware of the VA issue.
Times-News staff writer Jeff Alderton contributed to this story.
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Larry Scott --
