A HIPAA breach has been reported by North East Medical Services . The Protected Health Information of almost 70,000 patients has potentially been exposed after an unencrypted laptop was stolen from the car of a NEMS employee 's car . According to a breach notice sent to the California Department of Public Health , the incident occurred on July 11 , 2015 . The laptop was left in the locked trunk of a vehicle from where it was subsequently stolen . The healthcare provider was alerted to the equipment theft on July 13 . ;