CHI Franciscan Health Highline Medical Center in Burien, Wash., is notifying patients of a potential data breach after a vendor working on behalf of the medical center inadvertently left patient information accessible via the internet.
R-C Healthcare Management notified the hospital July 22 that some patient information had been accessible online from April 21 through June 13. According to HHS Office for Civil Rights breach notification portal, the incident affects 18,399 individuals.
Potentially compromised information includes patient names, service dates, health insurance information and Social Security numbers. No medical information was included. The incident affects patients whose data was involved in account reporting functions from 1993 to 1994 and 2008 to 2013, according to the hospital's notice.
R-C Healthcare reportedly told CHI Franciscan it secured the files as of June 13. The health system says it has no knowledge any of the information has been accessed, viewed, acquired or compromised by an unauthorized third party but is offering free credit monitoring for affected patients.
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