Minnesota Hospitals Warn Patients Laptop Stolen

Hospital officials say thousands of patients at Fairview and North Memorial hospitals may have been exposed to potential identity theft because of a stolen laptop computer.

Officials say the laptop contained private data on more than 16,000 patients and was stolen from a parked car in Minneapolis in July. They blame the loss on a subcontractor hired to help with insurance.

The Star Tribune reports both hospital groups are notifying patients in letters Tuesday.

Fairview says there is no evidence that any patient information has been accessed or misused.

The laptop contained names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers and some medical information on about 14,000 Fairview patients.

North Memorial says about 2,800 of its patients were affected, but that information did not include Social Security numbers.