DENVER -- Kaiser Permanente Colorado began notifying approximately 38,000 members Tuesday of a possible breach of their private health information.
The information was on a laptop that was stolen from the personal car of a national Kaiser Permanente employee in California, according to a news release from the health provider.
Information on the laptop included names, member ID numbers, date of birth, age, gender and provider/physician information. The data included on the laptop was part of a review of an internal health quality project and is limited to two Kaiser Permanente Colorado medical offices: Skyline and Southwest.
"We believe the laptop was stolen for its street value and not the information on the computer," said Jacque Montgomery, a Kaiser Permanente spokeswoman. "No Social Security information was involved. Kaiser Permanente regrets the situation and believes notifying our members of the possible breach of private health information is the right thing to do."
A special phone line has been set up for members to call with questions. That number is 866-529-0813.