Charleston, S.C.-based Roper St. Francis Hospital began notifying 6,000 patients Sept. 3 that their medical records and information had been exposed after a hospital employee's email account was hacked, according to local ABC affiliate WCIV.
Roper St. Francis on July 8 discovered that an unauthorized individual gained access to the employee's email account between June 13 and June 17, according to the statement on the hospital's website.
As a result of the incident, personal information of patients, including names, medical record or account numbers, dates of birth, diagnoses and limited clinical and/or treatment information was accessible to the unauthorized user. A limited number of patients' health insurance information and Social Security numbers were exposed.
Roper St. Francis said it is providing free credit-monitoring and identity protection services to patients whose Social Security numbers were exposed.
"We regret any concern or inconvenience this incident may cause," the hospital stated. "We remain committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of our patients’ information. To help prevent this from happening again, we are enhancing our email security and providing continued education to our staff on email protection."