25 Apr 2008
The Department of Health (DH) is working closely with the police in the investigation into a suspected theft case involving a removable electronic storage device (USB disc) with patients' information.
The USB disk, which contained medical reports and referral letters of some 700 named patients, were found missing at the Child Assessment Centre (CAC) in Tuen Mun on April 18. As repeated attempts to locate the device failed, the incident was reported to the Police on April 22.
The department has sent letters to parents of the involved patients to inform them of the case. The Privacy Commissioner of Personal Data has also been notified by DH.
The Deputy Director of Health, Dr Gloria Tam, today (April 25) apologized to the families affected.
Dr Tam said most of the patients affected are children visiting Tuen Mun Child Assessment Centre and the remaining small portion are children from other CACs.
While understanding the concern and feelings of the affected families, Dr Tam re-assured parents that treatment arrangements for their children would not be affected as the original medical records remained intact.
As the case involved personal privacy, the affected families should remain vigilant and report to the Police if they were approached by suspicious persons with their personal data, she said.
"There is a DH hotline (2125 1133) for enquiries. The hotline will operate till 9pm today, from 9 am to 1 pm on coming Saturday and Sunday and from 9 am to 5 pm during weekdays starting next Monday.
"We have reminded our staff the absolute importance of office security and to strictly adhere to Government's Security Regulations," Dr Tam said.
In addition, with immediate effect, staff has been asked to keep storage of identifiable patient information in removable electronic devices to a minimum essential for the efficient conduct of business and the information should be encrypted.
Moreover, these should not be removed from the specific office/clinic unless with prior approval from the respective Service Heads.