Hospital loses data on 3,000 patients
Yan Chai Hospital has reported the loss of information on 3,000 patients to the police and privacy watchdog.
The case follows patient data leaks the Hospital Authority revealed in May, prompting the Privacy Commissioner to launch an unprecedented examination of the personal data system of public hospitals. The authority later set up an expert panel to investigate the data leaks.
A spokesman for Yan Chai Hospital said back-up floppy disks, believed to number 11, were discovered missing by its medical records department during the encryption process on June 30.
The hospital management was told but had decided to carry out an investigation before reporting the case to the police. It abandoned the search yesterday.
The floppy disks had the processing log sheet on medical report applications dated 2005 and 2006, in which about 3,000 names and identity card numbers were recorded. Twenty-three acknowledgement receipts, containing similar data, were also missing.
The files did not include medical information, the hospital said.
