Weather permitting, crews will hoist UPMC's giant letters atop the Golden Triangle's tallest structure this Saturday.

Since there seems to be no stopping this bad idea from being perched above the U.S. Steel Tower, maybe the successful medical network can atone by revamping its most common mark on Pittsburgh.

Take Social Security numbers off patient ID bracelets.

An institution with a $3 billion equity and fixed-income investment portfolio can afford to be on the cutting edge of client privacy. A hospital system that is enlightened enough to have its own vice president for privacy and information security should have a comprehensive policy that protects the identities of all patients.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center doesn't.

John Houston, its privacy VP, said UPMC issues unique medical record numbers to new patients, but it continues to use Social Security numbers -- plus full name, birth date and insurance policy number -- on the bracelets the hospitals put on patients who are already in the system. That's thousands upon thousands of people who come to UPMC for quality treatment.

In the digital age, there's nothing high-quality about labeling patients, who may be drugged or asleep, with enough personal data on their wrists to steal an identity.

It's time UPMC left its mark around here in more discreet ways.