DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Guardian Jacksonville Notifies 11,521 Patients of Email Compromise of Protected Health Information

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Dissent

From their notice of March 30:

Guardian Pharmacy of Jacksonville, LLC (“Guardian”) is notifying certain patients of the unauthorized access to certain limited pieces of patient information, including patient name, prescription medication information, treatment details, and diagnosis information.

For a small number of individuals, this information also included Social Security numbers and health insurance information.  Although we are unaware of any actual or attempted misuse of protected health information, Guardian is providing its impacted patients with information about the event, steps taken since discovering the incident to mitigate the risk of misuse of the information, and what can be done to better protect against potential harm resulting from this event.

On October 3, 2017, Guardian identified unusual activity in an employee email account. As part of Guardian’s immediate and ongoing investigation into the event, on February 14, 2018, it was determined that certain pieces of patient information were accessible to an unauthorized individual(s).

“We take this event very seriously,” Khristy McCelland, President of Guardian Pharmacy of Jacksonville, stated.  “Upon learning of the event, we immediately changed the credentials to the email account and launched an extensive internal investigation, which was supported by a third-party forensic investigation firm, into the nature and scope of the incident.  Once we confirmed that protected health information was accessible to an unauthorized individual(s), we immediately took steps to mitigate the risk to our impacted patients and to notify them of the incident.  In response to this incident, we have augmented our password security policies and provided additional training to employees.”

In addition to mailing letters to its impacted patients, Guardian disclosed this incident to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Florida Attorney General, and the major consumer reporting agencies on March 30, 2018.

Guardian is unaware of any actual or attempted misuse of its patients’ information and cannot confirm if their information was accessed without authorization.

Nevertheless, Guardian encourages its patients to review their Guardian account statements, health insurance account records, and explanation of benefits forms for suspicious activity.  Any suspicious activity should be immediately reported to the institution that issued the record.  Credit monitoring and identity restoration services are being offered to patients whose Social Security numbers were potentially impacted by this event.

To better assist its patients, Guardian has established a toll-free privacy inquiry line to answer any questions.  This privacy inquiry line is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST at (877) 646-8014. This inquiry line will remain open until June 30, 2018.

Category: HackHealth DataU.S.

Post navigation

← NC: Diagnostic Radiology & Imaging notifies 800 patients of phishing incident in 2017
Former Suncoast Hospital patients worried about abandoned medical records →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • AT&T gets preliminary approval for $177 million data breach settlement
  • Aflac notifies SEC of breach suspected to be work of Scattered Spider
  • Former JBLM soldier pleads guilty to attempting to share military secrets with China
  • No, the 16 billion credentials leak is not a new data breach — a wake-up call about fake news (Updated)
  • Tonga’s health system hit by cyberattack (1)
  • Russia Expert Falls Prey to Elite Hackers Disguised as US Officials
  • Proposed class action settlement in In re Netgain Technology litigation
  • Qilin Offers “Call a lawyer” Button For Affiliates Attempting To Extort Ransoms From Victims Who Won’t Pay
  • Ireland’s Data Protection Commission publishes 2024 Annual Report
  • The headlines suggested Freedman Healthcare suffered a ransomware attack that affected patient data. The reality was quite different.

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • The Markup caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech
  • Privacy in the Big Sky State: Montana’s Consumer Privacy Law Gets Amended
  • UK Passes Data Use and Access Regulation Bill
  • Officials defend Liberal bill that would force hospitals, banks, hotels to hand over data
  • US Judge Invalidates Biden Rule Protecting Privacy for Abortions
  • DOJ’s Data Security Program: Key Compliance Considerations for Impacted Entities
  • 23andMe fined £2.31 million for failing to protect UK users’ genetic data

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.