Apple Valley (Minn.) Clinic, part of Minneapolis-based Allina Health, recently transitioned to the health system's EHR platform following a ransomware attack on its tech services vendor that exposed nearly 158,000 patients' information.
Apple Valley reported the incident to HHS March 26 as affecting 157,939 individuals. The clinic said it was notified by its vendor Netgain in December that the company's systems had been compromised by a cyberattack. Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare, which also works with Netgain, was also affected by the ransomware attack, which exposed the personal information of 210,000 patients, providers and workers.
Once Netgain's systems were restored, Allina Health received confirmation Jan. 29 that patient data had been affected by the attack. Patient information exposed by the incident includes names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, bank account and routing numbers, patient billing information, and medical information, according to the March 26 news release.
Only patients who receive care at Apple Valley were affected by the incident; no other Allina Health locations were involved. While Apple Valley was not targeted in the attack, the clinic implemented Allina Health's EHR system in February and began moving to a new IT system, also used by Allina Health, to increase its cybersecurity protocols.
Apple Valley is offering free identity theft protection services to any patients affected by the breach.