Data Breach at Middletown Medical Impacts up to 63K Patients

The Orange County, New York-based Middletown Medical has acknowledged a data breach in which a security setting on one of the group’s radiology interfaces enabled unauthorized users to access electronic patient information.

The misconfigured security settings specifically may have permitted users to see a patient listing and, in a limited number of cases, may have allowed unauthorized users to access limited patient data electronically, the organization said in a notification statement.

The multi-specialty physicians’ group said that the day after the breach, which occurred on Jan. 29, it was able to “modify the interface and terminate any potential unauthorized access to the patient listing and electronic patient information. The interface, patient listing, and electronic patient information remain secure, Middletown Medical said.

The information that may have been exposed includes patient names, birthdates, client identification numbers, an indication that patients received radiology services, and the dates when they received those services, and, in a limited number of cases, patient radiology reports, radiology images and diagnosis.  The information did not include Social Security numbers, the statement said.

A report in HIPAA Journal noted that “The data breach summary submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights indicates up to 63,551 patients had their PHI [protected health information] exposed, making this one of the largest healthcare security incidents to be reported so far this year.”

Middletown Medical said it is offering identity theft recovery services through ID Experts at no cost to the individual.