By SDCN Editor
San Diego, CA–Sharp HealthCare notified 62,777 patients Monday about a data breach that occurred on its website’s server on January 12.
Sharp officials noticed suspicious activity on a server that runs the Sharp.com website. They launched an investigation into the incident and determined that an “unauthorized person gained access to the website server for a few hours.” During that time, the unauthorized person gained access to a file containing certain patients’ information.
“While it varied from person to person, the information contained in the file was limited to patient names, internal Sharp identification numbers and/or invoice numbers, payment amounts, and the names of the Sharp facilities receiving the payments,” officials stated on their website.
According to officials, the information breached did not include bank account or credit/payment card information, social security numbers, contact information, health insurance information, dates of birth, clinical information, department name, provider name, or information about the services received. Additionally, the breach did not involve unauthorized access to Sharp’s medical record systems or the FollowMyHealth patient portal.
The breach did not affect all Sharp patients, but only those who paid a bill or invoice using the online bill payment service between Aug. 12, 2021, and Jan. 12, 2023.
Sharp officials recommend that affected individuals review statements they receive from their healthcare providers. If they see charges for services they did not receive, they should contact the provider immediately.
For more information, call (833) 753-3819, Monday through Friday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time.
