More than 5,500 patients of Virginia - based NOVA Chiropractic & Rehab Center of Sterling may have had personal information including Social Security numbers compromised after an unencrypted thumb drive containing the data was possibly thrown away . How many victims ? 5,534 , according to HHS.gov . What type of personal information ? Names , addresses , health records , and , in some cases , Social Security numbers , dates of birth , diagnoses , insurance claim forms , and payment information , including expired credit card data . What happened ? An unencrypted thumb drive that contained the data was misfiled and put into regular office circulation , inadvertently wiped clean , or possibly thrown away . What was the response ? NOVA is interviewing involved individuals and taking inventory of electronic devices as part of an ongoing investigation . NOVA is improving security by only using encrypted and password protected devices . NOVA has issued a notification that is posted to the website , and is offering a free examination , regular office visit , or therapy session to impacted individuals or their family members . Details : NOVA learned of the incident on Jan. 30 . The unencrypted drive was used to transfer older electronic files . Quote : Please rest assured that your health information is intact and our office still has your important records , John Ratcliffe , clinic director with NOVA , wrote in the notification posted online . The likelihood that there indeed was a breach of information is extremely low . Source : sterlingchiropractortherapy.com , Important HIPAA notice , March 25 , 2014 . ;