OCH Regional Medical Center announced Friday that it suffered a data breach that went undiscovered for more than a week in September 2023, potentially compromising a wide swathe of patient information.
The hospital sent a press release just after 4 p.m. Friday that said “unauthorized individuals” found their way into OCH systems on Sept. 6 and went undetected until Sept. 14, gaining access to as many as 67,000 files.
Hospital security “took abrupt action” to remove their access once it was discovered, but followup inquiries uncovered a broad range of potentially compromised information.
“An investigation determined that the criminals may have obtained patient records containing names, social security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses, diagnoses, disability codes, account numbers, insurance details and payer information,” the release said.
The hospital hired forensic experts after the incident to strengthen its systems and figure out which patients had been affected, though its release did not specify who it hired, what they did or whether they actually managed to determine what data had been compromised.
Hospital staff, in compliance with requirements from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will send notices to individual patients and post a notice online for those they can’t contact.
“Protecting patient information remains the hospital’s highest priority, and steps have been taken to enhance security measures,” the release said. “Patients are encouraged to remain vigilant, monitor financial statements and credit reports and report any signs of identity theft to (law enforcement). … OCH regrets any inconvenience and appreciates the community’s patience as the hospital continues working to enhance system security.”
OCH did not respond by press time to a request for clarification on whether it knows how access was gained, why it took so long to announce the breach or whether it can determine who was affected.
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