Patient Credit Card Info Accessed By Former Jackson Employee

MIAMI (CBS4) - Jackson Health System has offered free credit card fraud protection to approximately 1,800 patients whose personal information was "inappropriately" accessed by a former employee.

On Monday, hospital officials announced that they were conducting and internal investigation and cooperating with police.

"The safety and security of all Jackson Health System patients is a top priority. Any allegations about a breach in security and privacy are taken extremely seriously. Jackson is committed to patient confidentiality and strictly adheres to all state and federal patient privacy laws," the health care provider said in a statement.

CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald reports theft of patient data has been a recurring theme in the state. Last June, AvMed health insurance reported that the data of 1.2 million patients had been on two laptops stolen from its offices. In 2008, data on 2.1 million University of Miami patients was stolen when a box was taken from a parked van.

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