EUGENE, Ore. — Lane Community College is notifying patients of its health clinic by letter to inform them of a breach of the clinic’s electronic medical records, steps taken to secure information, and what patients can do.
“We take all aspects of health care seriously at the clinic,” said Brian Kelly, vice president of college services, “including the privacy of our records. We are focused on helping patients who have concerns, and what we can do to better protect our systems in the future.”
During routine computer maintenance on February 3, 2017 a virus was discovered on a single clinic computer. The virus could have relayed patient information including name, date of birth, address, phone number, social security number, diagnosis, and other identifying information to a third party between March 2016 and February 3, 2017. This computer was not connected to any other computer in the clinic and there is no evidence that any patient information was transmitted.
Lane is taking all possible steps to ensure that patient information is secure. On the day the virus was discovered, all other computers in the clinic were scanned immediately and found to be virus free. In addition, the infected computer was taken out of service until the virus could be removed. The college has undertaken a thorough review of electronic security throughout the clinic paying particular attention to vulnerability to computer viruses. Electronic security has been upgraded to better protect patient information moving forward.
Patients are advised to report the breach to their credit bureaus, banks, and credit card companies, including the identifying information that might have been disclosed. Patients may request a free credit report from any of the three major credit reporting companies at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228. Patients should also place a fraud alert at one of the following three major credit bureaus:
• Equifax: 1-800-525-6285, www.equifax.com
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742, www.experian.com
• Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289, www.transunion.com
Patients who notice any suspicious or unusual activity in their accounts may want to contact local authorities and file a police report.
This is the first data breach at the clinic, although it is common in healthcare, as noted by an article in the July 2016 HIPPA Journal that said, “Cyberattacks on healthcare organizations are now a fact of life.”
For more information about Lane Community College:
Lane is an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabilities Employer
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