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On Oct. 5, 2012, University of Virginia Medical Center and Continuum Home Infusion learned that an unencrypted handheld electronic device used by Continuum Home Infusion on-call pharmacists went missing sometime around that date. UVA Medical Center immediately began a thorough search for the device but has been unable to locate it.
At the same time, UVA Medical Center conducted an investigation to confirm what information was included on the electronic device. The investigation determined the device may have contained patient information, including patients’ names, addresses, diagnoses, medications and health insurance identification numbers that in some instances are Social Security numbers. The device did not contain any credit card or bank account information.
Not all UVA Medical Center patients are affected, only certain Continuum Home Infusion patients. The patients affected include those who received services from Continuum Home Infusion during the month of September 2012 and potential patients who were referred to Continuum Home Infusion from August 2007 through September 2012.
UVA Medical Center has no reason to believe that any of the information has been accessed or used. However, out of an abundance of caution, UVA Medical Center began sending letters to affected patients on Nov. 30, 2012. UVA Medical Center is also providing a dedicated call center for affected patients. More information can be found at the UVA Health System website .
UVA Medical Center deeply regrets any inconvenience this may cause to Continuum Home Infusion patients. To help prevent this from happening in the future, UVA Medical Center has re-educated its staff on the importance of safeguarding protected health information and electronic devices containing protected health information.
