Think the United States has its problems with securing patient health information? We're not alone. London Health Programmes, a medical research organization based at the NHS North Central London health authority, has reported missing an unencrypted laptop containing information of 8.63 million patients and 18 million hospital visits, operations and procedures, according to today's issue of The Sun. The data does not include names, "but patients could be identified from postcodes and details such as gender, age and ethnic origin," according to the newspaper. Information on the laptop included records of cancer, HIV, mental illness and abortions. The computer was one of 20 lost, and officials have since recovered eight. The research organization "only just" reported the missing laptops to police although they went missing three weeks ago, according to the newspaper.
