Nearly 21,000 patients at MercyOne Clinton (Iowa) Medical Center may have had their data compromised — or lost forever — in a recent hack.
After the health system's IT systems were disrupted April 4, it discovered that a hacker had accessed its network in the month prior, MercyOne said in a May notice to affected patients. The data may have included Social Security numbers, medical records and financial account information.
The health system said it was restoring its network, but noted that "certain information related to our patients in reports and documents may be unable to be restored."
MercyOne Clinton notified the HHS Office of Civil Rights on June 2 that 20,865 individuals were affected by the breach.