Seattle – December 22, 2023 – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is notifying individuals of a recent incident involving a lost laptop.
On October 27, 2023, Fred Hutch learned that one of its providers had lost his personal laptop while traveling. The provider used a laptop and through the Microsoft Outlook application he accessed Fred Hutch's email. His personal laptop was password protected, and his provider began wiping him remotely when the laptop came online.
Upon learning of the loss, Fred Hutch began an investigation that included hiring a forensic team to determine what information was contained in the provider's email account. Although there is no reason to believe that the information on the laptop was accessed, Fred Hutch is notifying affected patients out of an abundance of caution.
A Fred Hutch investigation found that some provider emails contain one or more of the following: name, address, phone number, date of birth, medical record number, patient account number, date of visit, and date of service. It turned out that patient information was included. and/or certain clinical information related to your care at Fred Hutch. For a limited number of individuals, Social Security numbers may also be included.
Fred Hutch is working to complete the investigation as quickly as possible and will begin mailing letters to the individuals involved next week. Fred Hutch provides free credit monitoring and identity protection services to individuals whose Social Security numbers may be involved. He also encourages patients to review statements from their health insurance companies and contact them immediately if there are any inaccuracies.
Fred Hutch takes patient trust very seriously and is committed to protecting your personal information. We are providing additional education to our employees on the necessary safeguards for mobile devices and reviewing our policies and processes to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
Patients with questions are encouraged to call Fred Hutch's dedicated call center at 1.888.723.1054, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST. Additional information can be found at www.fredhutch.org.
Media contact:
[email protected]
206.667.2210
###
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center combines personalized care and advanced research to provide the latest cancer treatment options while accelerating discoveries to prevent, treat and cure cancer and infectious diseases worldwide. doing.
Seattle-based Fred Hutch is an independent, nonprofit organization and the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington state. The company has a global reputation for discoveries in cancer, infectious diseases and basic research, including important advances in bone marrow transplantation, immunotherapy, HIV/AIDS prevention and COVID-19 vaccines. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care facilities providing oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services. Fred Hutch also runs the cancer program at UW Medicine.
