On April 11, 2008, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center (“New York-Presbyterian”) reported that a
security breach had occurred, which resulted in the exposure of approximately 40,000 to 50,000 patient information records. In a
federal criminal complaint, a patient admissions employee was charged with stealing the records, some as early as March 2006, and
selling some of them. The files included patients’ names, phone numbers and Social Security numbers. It is not clear if
medical information was included.
New York-Presbyterian has begun the process of contacting patients whose records were stolen. As part of the notification, it is
offering two free years of credit monitoring through Experian.
Consumers who receive notification of the breach, or who want additional information, should contact New York-Presbyterian at its hotline at 212-746-1300 (recorded message detailing steps for victims to take). Consumers wishing to speak to a person should call the hospital’s Patient Services Department at 212-746-4293.
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