Phoenixville Hospital Provides Notice Of Data Privacy Incident

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — Phoenixville Hospital reported Friday that an employee accessed medical records of patients from October 2021 to May 1, 2022 for no business reason.

The employee was immediately suspended and subsequently terminated, according to a news release provided by Jessica Bezler, spokeswoman for Tower Health.

According to a statement from the hospital:

The information for each patient contained the name, address, date of birth, diagnosis, vital signs, medications, test results and notes.

In a few instances partial Social Security numbers and medical records were obtained.

Notices were mailed to all affected patients on Friday, July 8.

“The hospital takes its responsibility to safeguard personal and protected health information very seriously,” according to the statement.

“The hospital has provided additional training to members of its workforce regarding the appropriate access of patient information.”

An investigation of potential improvements to privacy monitoring tools and processes is ongoing.

What are employees expected to do?

Even though no complete Social Security numbers or other sensitive financial account information was accessed for most of the affected patients, it is recommended that individuals keep a close watch on their bank statements, credit card statements, personal mail and other bills and financial statements for any suspicious or unauthorized activity.

Individuals should report any unauthorized activity to their bank or credit card companies.

Complimentary credit monitoring is being offered to the few individuals whose partial Social Security number and medical insurance information was accessed.

Those who did not receive a letter and would like information may contact 855-516-3851 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.