Lost WellPoint data turns up
p2pnet.net news:- A missing CD with vital WellPoint medical and other personal information for 75,000 members of its Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield unit in New York has turned up.
It was WellPoint’s second major data loss.
“We are relieved the CD has been found,” says WellPoint.
“The information was not transferred in accordance to our contractual terms with Magellan, who did not require HDMS to encrypt or password protect the data. We are addressing these issues and we have made it clear to both HDMS and Magellan that their security practices with respect to the data transfer were unacceptable. As a result, Magellan will now only transmit personal health information electronically through a secure network, eliminating CDs and the use of a delivery service.”
The information was on an unencrypted disc a subcontractor recently sent to Magellan Behavioral Services, which specializes in monitoring and coordinating mental health and substance abuse treatments for insurance companies, says CNET News.
In October, “WellPoint learned that electronic backup tapes with information on 196,000 WellPoint members had been stolen from a data processor in Massachusetts operated by Concentra, a national data warehouse company,” says the story, adding, “Most of the 196,000 people in that case were Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield members in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia, according to WellPoint. Greiner said that data on Empire members had not been involved in the October theft, which has not been solved.”
The data loss was “the result of an error in judgment on both sides, by Magellan and Health Data Management Solutions,” it has Magellan’s Erin Somers stating.
Members with questions can call the toll free number, 800-293-3443, says WellPoint.
Also See:
WellPoint – Important Update Regarding the Alleged Loss of a CD, March 14, 2007
CNET News – Medical data on Blue Cross members may be lost, March 14, 2007
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