Email hacking source of UC Davis breach
The University of California Davis Health System has notified 1,326 patients that their protected health information was compromised when a physician's email account was hacked.
The breach was discovered on Sept. 26 but the organization has not disclosed when the hacking event occurred.
"UC Davis providers sometimes use their UC Davis email for patient care purposes. For example, staff may communicate about upcoming appointments, or providers might discuss patient care during a consult or referral," wrote Shara Merritt Reed, privacy program director at UC Davis Health System, in a letter to impacted patients. "When this happens, limited amounts of patient information may be included in the provider's email account."
UC Davis Health System experienced another data breach last January when an email phishing scam compromised the data of 2,269 patients.
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.