The laptop that was reported missing from Premier Healthcare on Jan. 4, has been returned via U.S. mail. According to a statement from the Bloomington, Indiana physician-led multispecialty healthcare provider, the laptop was returned on March 7.

Premiere had reported the laptop stolen from the billing department in its locked and alarmed administrative office.

[Also: Premier Healthcare faces possible data breach]

Premier hired an information security consulting firm that specializes in digital forensics and incident response to conduct a comprehensive forensic analysis, which revealed the laptop had not been powered since it went missing, Premier officials said in a statement.

Premier had feared a possible breach that could have affected nearly 206,000 patients. For 1,769 of those patients, social security numbers and financial information could also have been accessed.

Premier continues to investigate the case. It has reported return of the laptop to the Bloomington Police Department for use in their continuing investigation.

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