Theft of scanning equipment from Pittsburgh-area hospital compromises patient names, DOBs and SSNs

I am not sure why a bone density scanner would contain the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of patients, but apparently they do. And when such a scanner is stolen, the bigger issue is the theft of that data:

Theft at hospital - PittsburghLIVE.com:

Patients who underwent bone density scans at Mercy Jeannette Hospital have been notified that personal information may be compromised due to a theft of scanning equipment.

According to a news release issued by the hospital, the theft took place during the week of Nov. 21. While the computer component used with the scanning equipment did not contain medical diagnoses or test results, it did contain patients' names, birth dates and Social Security numbers, according to the release.

Officials at the hospital were not available for comment Friday and provided the press release instead....