SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sharecare Health Data Services (“SHDS”), formerly known as BACTES Imaging Solutions, announced today that some personal information, including protected health information, may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party for a limited subset of patients of East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital (“ELADH”) and other customers. There is no evidence that any individual’s clinical medical information, driver’s license number, or banking and credit card information were accessed.
ELADH contracts services from SHDS to obtain information contained in medical records to respond to release of information requests or other healthcare operations purposes. The protected health information that may have been accessed includes combinations of name, date of birth, name and address of a facility that provided health services; and in some instances the name of a health care practitioner, the date of service, medical record number, internal SHDS processing notes; and with regard to the customer named above, one individual’s social security number. All affected individuals are being notified by mail.
An unauthorized third party initiated an attack on SHDS’s system as early as May 21, 2018, and during a review of the SHDS system, abnormal activity was detected on June 22, 2018. SHDS immediately began a thorough investigation, which included engaging a global forensics firm and contacting the FBI. Following its internal investigation, SHDS informed ELADH of the incident on December 31, 2018, after which ELADH worked with SHDS to investigate the matter further and identify any affected individuals and the nature of information that may have been compromised.
Customers other than ELADH impacted by the incident also have been notified by SHDS. SHDS understands that certain customers among these have issued, and others may issue, independent public statements regarding this incident. Based on feedback from all affected customers and their analyses, SHDS believes that, in the aggregate, the social security numbers of less than 1,000 individuals may have been affected, along with the protected health information of no more than 35,000 individuals. The data elements involved for all customers are the same as outlined above in this news release, and there is no evidence based on the investigation that any detailed clinical or additional financial information was compromised in any way. In response to the incident, SHDS has taken measures to further improve its security.
Although neither SHDS nor ELADH are aware at this time of the misuse of any impacted information, SHDS deeply regrets the inconvenience that this has caused our affected customers and potentially impacted individuals, to whom SHDS is offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services through AllClear ID. Details about these services are provided in the letters sent to affected individuals. For further information or to determine eligibility, individuals may call toll free at 1-855-295-3609.
Contact:
Caroline Shannon
Caroline.Shannon@edelman.com
Cell: 205-478-2406