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San Diego healthcare provider admits breach involving patient data

Updated on: 08 February 2023

Jurgita Lapienytė
Chief Editor

Keystone Health breach — Image by Shutterstock.

Sharp HealthCare, a San Diego-based group with ten healthcare institutions and over 18,000 employees, said certain patient information was compromised in a January breach.

The company detected suspicious activity on a server that runs the Sharp.com website on January 12. An unauthorized party gained access to the server for a few hours and was able to get their hands on a file with patients’ data.

The file contained patients’ names, identification numbers, invoice numbers, and payment amounts. Sensitive information like payment cards, Social Security Numbers, contact details, health insurance, and other extremely sensitive information was not compromised.

“Please note, this incident 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.

We have no indication that anyone’s information has been misused,” the company said.

As a precaution, Sharp HealthCare has started mailing notification letters to individuals affected by the incident. The company has also established a toll-free call center to answer questions.

“We 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,” the company said.