Philly health system breach due to employee error
Einstein Health Network has notified some 3,000 patients about a possible data breach after a website database was accidentally left accessible online, according to a Norristown Patch report.
The Philadelphia-based organization learned of the breach on Feb. 2. The website database left accessible via the internet contained patient information that had been entered into the health system website's "Request for Information" form, according to the report.
The breach did not affect any information in Einstein Health Network's EHR and was due to an inadvertent error—not hackers.
These patients entered information into the health system's "Request for Information" portal prior to Feb. 2, according to the report. Potentially compromised information includes patient names, telephone numbers, reason for submitting request, health information and physician names.
The health system secured the website database upon learning of the breach and began an internal investigation.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.