On June 21, 2024, Aultman Health Foundation posted a website notice disclosing a data breach that leaked confidential patient information. In this notice, Aultman explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access patients’ sensitive information, which includes their names, medical record numbers, dates of birth, addresses, patient account numbers, health insurance identification numbers, diagnoses, and treatment information. Upon completing its investigation, Aultman began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.
If you received a data breach notification from Aultman Health Foundation, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Aultman Hospital data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.
What Caused the Aultman Hospital Data Breach?
The Aultman Hospital data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, Aultman’s filing with the Attorney General of STATE provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, on April 24, 2024, Aultman learned that unauthorized emails had been sent from an employee’s email account without their knowledge or consent. In response, Aultman secured the employee’s email account and launched an investigation. Aultman quickly learned that the incident only involved a single employee’s email account and did not involve unauthorized access to its electronic health records systems.
However, Aultman’s investigation confirmed that an unauthorized party was able to access the employee’s email account between April 22, 2024 and April 24, 2024, including the emails and attachments within the account. Some of these emails and attachments contained confidential patient information.
After learning that sensitive patient data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Aultman Hospital reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which patients were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, medical record number, date of birth, address, patient account number, health insurance identification number, diagnoses, and treatment information.
On June 21, 2024, Aultman Hospital sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.
More Information About Aultman Health Foundation
Founded in 1892, Aultman Health Foundation is a healthcare services company based out of Canton, Ohio. Aultman Health Foundation consists of Aultman Hospital, Aultman Orrville Hospital, Aultman Alliance Community Hospital, the locally managed health insurance provider AultCare, The Aultman Foundation and Aultman College. In all, Aultman has 1,032 beds and more than 1,000 healthcare providers on staff. Aultman Hospital employs more than 7,000 people and generates approximately $920 million in annual revenue.
