I’m not finding anything on their web site just yet, but Spectrum Health Lakeland has reportedly been notifying patients about a breach involving their billing provider, OS Inc.
WSJM reports that the health system learned of the breach on March 8 after an OS employee’s email account containing patient information was accessed without authorization. The information in the account included patient names and addresses, the type of health services provided, dates, diagnosis information, and health insurance providers.
Spectrum Health Lakeland has reportedly just notified another 1,000 patients about the breach, but we do not yet know the total number of patients affected, it seems. The hospital has arranged for free credit monitoring for those affected.
OS, Inc. has posted a data security notice on their site, reproduced below. The notice gives the timeframe of events:
On or about December 21, 2018, we learned of suspicious activity occurring within an OS employee’s email account. We immediately changed the user’s credentials and launched an investigation. We also began working with forensic experts to determine the nature and scope of the suspicious activity.On February 20, 2019,the investigation confirmed that an unauthorized actor gained access to the employee’s email account from October 15, 2018 through December 21, 2018, utilizing account credentials harvested through a phishing email campaign.
The notification indicates that beginning May 2, OS was providing notifications to patients of the following clients: Tahoe Forest Health District, Sparta Community Hospital, Sauk Prairie Healthcare, Inc., and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. It’s not clear how many other clients, like Spectrum Health Lakeland, may be doing the notifications themselves.
This post may be updated as more information becomes available.
OS Website Notice - 5.7.19