Columbus-based Ohio State University's state-funded pilot for veterans' mental healthcare experienced a data breach earlier this year before the program prematurely ended June 15, according to local NBC affiliate WCMH.
The program, dubbed Veterans Neuromodulation Operation Wellness, or Veterans NOW, was designed to treat mental health issues veterans face including post-traumatic stress and substance abuse without the use of pharmaceutical drugs.
In March, the program was put on pause and later brought back without its lead physician. Before it was placed on hold, the program experienced a data breach that exposed the personal information of patients who had been enrolled, according to the report. The breach occurred sometime between Jan. 25 and March 4 and exposed certain patients' information including Social Security numbers, addresses and medical histories.
Veterans NOW was paused March 4 due to "noncompliance issues," according to public records cited by WCMH.
An OSU spokesperson did not confirm whether the data breach was the noncompliance issue behind the program's pause and said that the breach was discovered during a required evaluation, according to the report. All patients affected by the security event have been notified, but the spokesperson declined to answer any other questions from WCMH about the breach due to privacy concerns.