The University of Rochester Medical Center is reaching out to some former patients because some of their personal information may have been lost.
The Medical Center has sent letters to 537 former orthopaedic patients, telling them that a resident doctor there misplaced a computer flash drive that carried protected health information.
The drive included the patients names, gender, age, date of birth and some medical information. But officials say no address, social security numbers or insurance information was included.
The flash drive is believed to have been lost at an outpatient facility, and medical center personnel believe that the drive likely was destroyed in the laundry.
Officials say patients are being given phone numbers to call for further information. They say the the information was copied from other files, so its loss will not affect follow-up care for any patients.