Sentara Heart Hospital Data Breach (2015)

The August theft of two portable hard drives from Sentara Heart Hospital's electrophysiology labs led hospital officials to send letters about a security breach this week to 1,040 patients. The theft occurred during the weekend of Aug. 14. The patients who were informed had tests in the labs between Sept. 4, 2014, and Aug. 14. The hard drives included birthdates, names, diagnoses, types of procedures and other clinical notes. There were no Social Security numbers or addresses on the hard drives. Because of the number of patients affected, Sentara is required by federal law to notify patients and the news media and to post a notice on the health system's website. The theft led to new protocols. Portable hard drives are now secured in a locked drawer at all times.