Notice of Data Privacy Incident

On April 18, 2022, UW Medicine became aware of a theft of a laptop at its UWMC-Northwest Neurology Clinic at Meridian Pavilion (formerly, Northwest Neurology). The laptop was used to create and store electromyography (EMG) reports that contained protected health information. When we learned of the theft of the laptop, we immediately filed a report with Seattle Police Department (SPD), and to date SPD has been unable to recover the laptop. At this time, there is no evidence that there has been any misuse or attempted use of the information stored on the laptop.

The EMG reports stored on the laptop contained patients’ names, dates of birth, gender, and patients’ respective EMG findings and their treating physician’s name. The EMG reports did not contain patient financial information or any Social Security numbers.

Based on the results of our investigation, we are in the process of distributing letters to approximately 763 affected patients and have reported this incident to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights. UW Medicine patients who have questions about this incident may contact UW Medicine toll-free at 855.211.6193.

We sincerely regret that this incident occurred and apologize for any distress this may cause our patients and their families. UW Medicine is committed to providing quality care while protecting patients’ personal information. We are reviewing our internal protocols and procedures to prevent this from happening again.