Overland Park, Kan.-based Anesthesia Associates of Kansas City CEO Mark Meisel said an employee violated data security protocols by storing a backpack containing surgery schedules in plain sight, KCUR reports.
What you should know:
1. A nurse anesthetist reported the backpack was stolen from his car in December, and AAKC notified 3,472 patients some of their personal information may have been compromised. Patients who underwent surgery between April 4, 2018, and Dec. 4, 2018, were notified out of "an abundance of caution."
2. Mr. Meisel declined to tell KCUR if the employee was fired or disciplined.
"We had an employee that was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing," he told the news outlet. "Unfortunately, you can tell people what the rules are, but this person didn't follow the rules."
3. AAKC provides anesthesia services to Kansas City-based Children's Mercy Hospital and several hospitals owned by Overland Park-based HCA Midwest Health. It is the area's largest anesthesiology practice, with about 240 providers.