Data Breach Puts More Than 90,000 Midstate Patients At Risk For Identity Theft

Current and former patients of Midstate Medical Center in Meriden may be at risk of identity theft.

The hospital acknowledged publicly on Wednesday that a hard drive containing the records of 93,500 patients had been lost by an employee.  Both Attorney General George Jepson and police have since been notified.  The hospital has also hired a private investigator, according to its website.

The employee responsible is no longer working at Midstate or any other Hartford HealthCare affiliate.

“I strongly believe in protecting the confidentiality of patients’ private information. Hospitals, like health insurance companies, have access to very sensitive health and personal information. They have a duty to protect that information from unlawful disclosure,” Attorney General Jepsen said in a press release Wednesday.

All potentially affected individuals have been notified via regular mail.  The names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, marital statuses, and medical record numbers of those receiving the letter are potentially at risk.

Midstate is offering two years of identity theft protection to all involved patients.  The hospital’s website also offers “Incident FAQ” and “Reference Guide” pages to assist those affected.