Hackers may have accessed the information of more than 5.5 million people in a recent security breach reported by Yale New Haven Health.
In March, the New Haven, Connecticut-headquartered provider flagged unusual activity on its information technology systems, Yale said in a news release posted to its website earlier this month. An investigation found an unauthorized third-party had obtained copies of some patient data on March 8.
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An April 11 filing with the Health and Human Services Department's Office for Civil Rights reported 5,556,702 individuals were affected by the incident.
Although the compromised data varies by patient, it could include demographic information such as name, date of birth, address, telephone number, email address and race or ethnicity, along with Social Security number, patient type, or medical record number, Yale said in the release.
No electronic health record system data, financial accounts, payment information or employee health record information was involved or accessed in the incident, the system said.
Yale will notify patients whose information may have been compromised, it said. It will also offer complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services to individuals whose Social Security number was involved.
The healthcare industry has faced a growing number of data security incidents. Last February, the Change Healthcare breach exposed the information of 190 million people. More recently, Indiana Health University said in January it had been the victim of a cyberattack compromising patient data.
