A laptop containing files of nearly 14,000 patients of Fairview Health Services was stolen from an employeeâÄôs car July 25, putting sensitive information at risk, Fairview officials said Monday.

The car was parked at a Minneapolis restaurant at the time, but officials did not specify if the theft occurred near the University of Minnesota campus.

FairviewâÄôs Information Privacy Director Lois Dahl said the information on the stolen laptop included social security numbers, patient records, addresses and dates of birth.

Fairview has investigated the theft since the incident to determine the kind of information on the laptop and notified patients before the 60-day legal deadline.

Spokesman Ryan Davenport said the laptop belonged to an employee of Accretive Health âÄî a subcontractor Fairview uses to improve client outcomes.

âÄúFor this to happen is disappointing and frankly is unacceptable,âÄù he said.

Davenport said there is no evidence the data has been misused, but Fairview has notified those affected.

âÄúThe chances that someone of normal computer skill to be able to get at the data is very slim,âÄù Dahl said.

She said the Accretive employee did not follow the encryption procedure and both companies are reminding their employees of the importance of securing data.