[BreachExchange] Spectrum Health warns St. Joseph patients of data breach

[Destry Winant]

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2019/05/spectrum-health-warns-st-joseph-patients-of-data-breach.html

Spectrum Health Lakeland is warning about 1,100 people that patient
information may have been accessed in a data breach.

Billing services company OS, Inc. confirmed Wednesday , May 8, an
unauthorized individual accessed an employee’s email account that held
information related to some Spectrum Health Lakeland patients,
according to a Spectrum Health news release.

The information accessible in the breach included patient names and
addresses, type of health services provided, dates of those services,
diagnosis and health insurance provider, according to the release.
Information not involved includes social security numbers, driver’s
license numbers and financial information.

A third-party investigator found no evidence that patient information
was misused as a result of the attack, the release states. However, it
also could not be confirmed information had not been removed,
triggering the incident to be reported to regulators as a data breach.

Spectrum Health has been working with technology experts since it was
notified of the problem.

Patients whose information was possibly affected will receive a letter
within the next three to five days.

Spectrum Health has arranged for 12-month free identity theft
protection and resolution services through Experian IdentityWorks for
affected patients and is recommending they regularly review account
statements and periodically obtain a credit report.

“Spectrum Health regrets any concern this incident may cause the
affected patients and their families, and is working closely with OS,
Inc. to prevent this from happening again,” the release states.