Print Version
Email this story
Comment
Online bill pay at Sky Lakes shut down
August 15, 2007
Sky Lakes Medical Center officials say there is no evidence patient information was inappropriately accessed during a four-week period when its online security was down.
The medical center shut down its online bill payment system in late May and sent letters to about 30,000 patients notifying them of the problem. The problem was discovered when a patient at another hospital was able to access his records while searching the Internet.
“The door was open, nobody came through it,” said Tom Hottman, spokesman for Sky Lakes.
Officials say they are treating the incident as a critical learning experience and will work to fine tune online record management for the future.
Hottman said the incident occurred when the company that maintained the hospital’s online bill payment system, Verus Inc., transferred patient information from one server to another to perform maintenance.
Security measures were not instituted after the transfer, leaving the information accessible from late April to late May. The exposed information included patient names, addresses and Social Security numbers.
System shut down
Sky Lakes Medical Center shut down the system when it was notified of the error and also canceled its contract with Verus.
Medical center staff scanned thousands of patient records to see whether any information was accessed inappropriately. No evidence of unauthorized access was discovered, Hottman said.
Sky Lakes plans to reinstitute its online bill payment service, but Hottman said medical center officials first will identify necessary security and procedures to ensure patient information isn’t exposed to unauthorized use again.
“It’s a wake up call,” he said.
” Ty Beaver
Sky Lakes Medical Center officials say there is no evidence patient information was inappropriately accessed during a four-week period when its online security was down.
The medical center shut down its online bill payment system in late May and sent letters to about 30,000 patients notifying them of the problem. The problem was discovered when a patient at another hospital was able to access his records while searching the Internet.
“The door was open, nobody came through it,” said Tom Hottman, spokesman for Sky Lakes.
Officials say they are treating the incident as a critical learning experience and will work to fine tune online record management for the future.
Hottman said the incident occurred when the company that maintained the hospital’s online bill payment system, Verus Inc., transferred patient information from one server to another to perform maintenance.
Security measures were not instituted after the transfer, leaving the information accessible from late April to late May. The exposed information included patient names, addresses and Social Security numbers.
System shut down
Sky Lakes Medical Center shut down the system when it was notified of the error and also canceled its contract with Verus.
Medical center staff scanned thousands of patient records to see whether any information was accessed inappropriately. No evidence of unauthorized access was discovered, Hottman said.
Sky Lakes plans to reinstitute its online bill payment service, but Hottman said medical center officials first will identify necessary security and procedures to ensure patient information isn’t exposed to unauthorized use again.
“It’s a wake up call,” he said.
” Ty Beaver
 |
 |
|
| Combating crime in Chiloquin | Teachers hope a full day of class helps kindergartners develop faster |
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of HeraldAndNews.com. Comment Disclaimer: The editors of heraldandnews.com reserve the right to refuse publication of any comment posted for consideration. We may refuse for any reason, including use of profanity, disparaging comments, libelous comments, etc. Any reader who notices a comment they believe is particularly offensive, should notify us at webmaster@heraldandnews.com.
RSS
Tina N. O. wrote on Mar 16, 2009 2:54 AM: