Pardee UNC Health Care notifies community of possible data breach

Press release from Pardee UNC Health Care: 

Pardee UNC Health Care has begun the process of notifying the community of a possible data breach that occurred as a result of a break-in in the basement of their building located at 2029 Asheville Hwy, Hendersonville. The break-in was discovered, and a police report filed, on May 9, 2019. The lower level of the Asheville Hwy building was illegally accessed, and electronic equipment removed from the premises. The equipment taken did not have hard drives intact and as a result, no Protected Health Information (PHI) or other personal information was accessed via the stolen electronics.

However, during the onsite investigation immediately following the discovery of the break-in, Pardee Security found a stack of 590 Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control forms dating from October 2003 to December 2004. These forms, which contained information related to routine drug screenings performed at Pardee Urgent Care, were in plain view and likely accessible to the person(s) who participated in the break-in. “Since the stack of papers was moved from another location and in view of the person(s) who entered the building and removed the electronics, we do have reason to believe that the information contained on the forms could have been viewed,” said Jennifer Melia, Compliance & Privacy Officer for Pardee UNC Health Care.

Due to the age of the drug testing form, Pardee officials note that they lack accurate contact information to send letters to affected individuals. As a result, individuals who had a drug screening from October 2003 to December 2004 at the Pardee Urgent Care located at 212 Thompson Street or 205 Thompson Street in Hendersonville, NC, are encouraged to call toll free 866-668-4847 to confirm whether their data may have been viewed.

Protected Health Information that could have been accessed includes names and phone numbers, birth dates, social security numbers, results of the drug screen, employer name, and drivers license numbers. “We are unaware of any specific data misuse as a result of this breach, but we do want to make our affected individuals aware and ask that they remain vigilant and take advantage of the services that we’re offering to protect them from potential identity theft,” said Melia.

Melia also encourages affected individuals to take steps to review and monitor their credit by placing a fraud alert on their credit report by contacting any one of the three major consumer reporting agencies. Contact information for all three, as well as information on preventing identity theft provided by the Federal Trade Commission and North Carolina Attorney General’s Office can be found at pardeehospital.organd with this release. Additionally, Pardee UNC Health Care is offering free credit monitoring protection services for a period of one year to affected individuals.

“Pardee UNC Health Care is committed to protecting the privacy of patients’ medical information and takes this obligation very seriously,” said Melia. “All paper records previously stored in the lower level of the Asheville Highway location where the break-in occurred have been removed, segregated, and are now securely stored at a new location.” Melia also notes that Pardee consolidated paper records previously stored at multiple off-site records storage facilities into one secure storage facility, and is reinforcing existing employee training on the importance of maintaining the privacy and security of health and other personal information . “We are reviewing existing employee training and record retention protocols and policies and will reinforce and revise as needed,” said Melia.

Pardee UNC Health Care is a not-for-profit community hospital founded in 1953 and is managed by UNC Health Care. The hospital is licensed for 222 acute care beds. Pardee has several locations separate from the main campus, including a comprehensive physician practice network, a cancer center, three urgent care locations and five orthopedic clinics. For more information or to find a physician, visit www.pardeehospital.org.