Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center last Friday began sending letters to patients affected by recent incidents in which email accounts of two employees were accessed by third parties after the employees accidentally opened a “phishing” message that mimicked an official company communication. In each instance, the UVM Medical Center immediately shut down the employee account and began an investigation.
The incidents, which occurred on May 22nd and June 13th, did not involve the electronic medical record system, or systems that contain social security numbers and other information that can be used to identify people.
The email accounts in question did not contain any patient social security numbers or financial information, but did contain messages with patients’ information, which may have included names, addresses, medical record numbers and clinical information, such as diagnosis, treatment, and medications. While there is no evidence that any patient information was used in any way, the UVM Medical Center began mailing letters to the approximately 2,300 affected patients and has established a dedicated call center to answer patients’ questions.
“Protecting our information security systems is of utmost importance to us, and we are continuously evaluating industry best practices and implementing tools and tactics to make sure we have the best defenses in place against thousands of attempts to breach our systems every day,” said Heather Roszkowski, chief information security officer for the University of Vermont Health Network.
The UVM Medical Center deeply regrets any inconvenience or concern this may cause our patients. To help prevent something like this from happening in the future, the UVM Medical Center has taken organization-wide steps to enhance the security of our email system and mobile accounts, and is reinforcing education with its staff to assure protection of patients’ information.
This situation is comparable to what many people experience in their private life when personal email accounts are compromised, resulting in all of the account holder’s contacts receiving a spam message.
For more information, please visit uvmhealth.org/medcenter/phishing-notice. Starting on Monday July 24, those concerned can reach a special call center at 1-800-383-5522.
About the University of Vermont Medical Center
The University of Vermont Medical Center is a 447-bed tertiary care regional referral center, including the UVM Children’s Hospital, providing advanced care to approximately 1 million residents in Vermont and northern New York. Together with our partners at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, we are Vermont’s academic medical center.The University of Vermont Medical Center also serves as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties.
The University of Vermont Medical Center is a member of The University of Vermont Health Network, a five-hospital system established to deliver high quality academic medicine to every community we serve. Our partners are:
- The University of Vermont Health Network - Alice Hyde Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital
- The University of Vermont Health Network - Porter Medical Center
For more information visit www.UVMHealth.org/MedCenter or visit our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blog sites at www.UVMHealth.org/MedCenterSocialMedia
Source: UVMMC 7.21.2017