Device containing patient information missing from UVa Medical Center

The University of Virginia Medical Center has lost an on-call pharmacist's unencrypted handheld device containing sensitive medical records for more than 1,500 people, officials said Friday. The medical center learned Oct. 5 that the device, used by its Continuum Home Infusion Service, was missing, officials said. Handheld devices commonly are used in the industry, particularly by on-call workers, but the information should be encrypted, Robert "Bo" Cofield, associate vice president for hospital and clinics operations said. "The error was that it was unencrypted," he said.