June 3rd, 2011
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Author: BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — A woman was charged Thursday with stealing 4,500 patients’ medical records from Trinity Medical Center, possibly with the intent of using them for identity theft.
Chelsea Catherine Stewart, 26, was arrested Thursday morning by U.S. Postal inspectors, who said they found hundreds of pages with names, birth dates and Social Security numbers at a house in Alabaster where Stewart was staying. The files spanned several years, including before 2006, when Trinity was still Montclair Baptist Medical Center.
Trinity officials said surgery schedules were stolen from a closed patient registration area. The hospital planned to run an announcement of the data breach in today’s edition of The Birmingham News and has also mailed letters to all affected patients.
“We take our responsibility to protect patient privacy very seriously and sincerely regret that this theft occurred,” spokeswoman Leisha Harris said in an emailed statement. “To help safeguard against any further incidents, we are increasing our document security and changing access to our registration areas.”
Stewart was charged Thursday with violating the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which protects the privacy of medical records, and released on an unsecured bond of $5,000. She has not been indicted and did not have to enter a plea. She may face additional charges, said her court-appointed attorney, Scott Brower.
According to the charging document, Stewart said she had taken the records from the hospital when visiting a patient there between March 22 and April 1. Postal inspector John Bailey found the paperwork April 8 at a house in Alabaster where Stewart was staying, he said in an affidavit.
Four days earlier, Stewart had been arrested by Alabaster police and charged with two counts of breaking into a vehicle and two counts of credit card fraud. Those cases are still pending in Shelby County District Court.
In addition to the patient data, Bailey said he found handwritten notes with some people’s personal information that could be used for identity theft, plus a sort of “to do” list for fraud.
“Get hospital records together and run credit reports on people to get info,” the notes said, according to the affidavit.
Harris said that Trinity doesn’t believe the stolen information had been or would be used, but the hospital is offering free credit monitoring for affected patients.
Stewart is scheduled for a court appearance June 10 at 10 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge T. Michael Putnam.
Birmingham News staff writer Kent Faulk contributed to this report.
Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Wolfson at hwolfson@bhamnews.com.
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Tags: BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — A woman was charged Thursday with stealing 4,500 patients’ medical records from Trinity Medical Center, possibly with the intent of using them for identity theft.
Chelsea Catherine Stewart, 26, was arrested Thursday morning by U.S. Postal inspectors, who said they found hundreds of pages with names, birth dates and Social Security numbers at a house in Alabaster where Stewart was staying. The files spanned several years, including before 2006, when Trinity was still Montclair Baptist Medical Center.
Trinity officials said surgery schedules were stolen from a closed patient registration area. The hospital planned to run an announcement of the data breach in today’s edition of The Birmingham News and has also mailed letters to all affected patients.
“We take our responsibility to protect patient privacy very seriously and sincerely regret that this theft occurred,” spokeswoman Leisha Harris said in an emailed statement. “To help safeguard against any further incidents, we are increasing our document security and changing access to our registration areas.”
Stewart was charged Thursday with violating the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which protects the privacy of medical records, and released on an unsecured bond of $5,000. She has not been indicted and did not have to enter a plea. She may face additional charges, said her court-appointed attorney, Scott Brower.
According to the charging document, Stewart said she had taken the records from the hospital when visiting a patient there between March 22 and April 1. Postal inspector John Bailey found the paperwork April 8 at a house in Alabaster where Stewart was staying, he said in an affidavit.
Four days earlier, Stewart had been arrested by Alabaster police and charged with two counts of breaking into a vehicle and two counts of credit card fraud. Those cases are still pending in Shelby County District Court.
In addition to the patient data, Bailey said he found handwritten notes with some people’s personal information that could be used for identity theft, plus a sort of “to do” list for fraud.
“Get hospital records together and run credit reports on people to get info,” the notes said, according to the affidavit.
Harris said that Trinity doesn’t believe the stolen information had been or would be used, but the hospital is offering free credit monitoring for affected patients.
Stewart is scheduled for a court appearance June 10 at 10 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge T. Michael Putnam.
Birmingham News staff writer Kent Faulk contributed to this report.
Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Wolfson at hwolfson@bhamnews.com.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: You Cannot Kill An Ideology With A Gun.
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