Patient Info Exposed After Data Breach at South Florida Hospital System

Hackers broke into a South Florida hospital system’s computer network in October, potentially exposing patients’ pesonal information, including medical treatments, driver’s license numbers, phone numbers and more, the hospital announced.

Broward Health, which runs five hospitals and four outpatient centers in the Fort Lauderdale area, said it reported the data breach to the FBI on Oct. 19, as soon as it was discovered. Federal authorities asked the health system to delay notifying patients while an investigation was underway, according to the Miami Herald.

“This personal information was exfiltrated. However, there is no evidence the information was actually misused,” Broward Health said in a statement.

Officials urged patients of the health system to check their insurance benefit statements for medical services they may not have received, and to check with their bank statements and credit reports. South Florida has been known as a hotbed of health care fraud, the newspaper reported.

The hospital system said the hackers were able to get into the Broward Health system while they were using the offices of another medical provider that had access to the Broward Health computers.

Meanwhile, another clinic owner has been charged for allegedly submitting some $38 million in fraudulent claims to United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Armando Valdes, who operated Gasiel Medical Services clinic in Miami, billed the insurers for infusions of the expensive immunosuppressant drug Infliximab, federal prosecutors said. But the infusions were not medically necessary and were not actually provided in many cases, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said.

Valdes used the proceeds to acquire beachfront real estate and luxury vehicles, the prosecutors said. The indictment can be seen here. Valdes was released last week on a $1 million personal surety bond. The terms required him to surrender his passport and avoid any employment in the health care field.

Topics Florida Cyber