Housekeeping employees of the medical center were recruited for a federally funded study of blood pressure, blood count levels, infectious disease history, and job stress. the interviews and blood tests were conducted in a private location not affiliated with the study center. follow-up interviews were conducted in the same location. the study coordinator stopped at the cafeteria on her way back to the study office after the second study visit for the last three study subjects and lost the three file folders. records of one subject indicated he had a history of a sexually transmitted disease and another had recently been treated for tuberculosis. the subjects were notified of the loss. following this event, the irb approved a protocol change requiring that all records be transmitted electronically to the study office using the medical center’s secure network.