Jackson Health patient data stolen

Jackson Health System reported Monday it is cooperating with police in an investigation of an employee who "apparently inappropriately accessed confidential patient information" of 1,800 people, the system announced in a press release. Jackson said the 1,800 patients have been notified and offered free credit card fraud protection. "JHS took quick action to address this issue and the employee is no longer employed at JHS," the system said in the press release. Theft of patient data has been a recurring theme in the state — sometimes with much larger numbers. In June 2010, AvMed health insurance reported that the data of 1.2 million patients had been on two laptops stolen from its offices. In 2008, data on 2.1 million University of Miami patients was stolen when a box was taken from a parked van.