Northwest Rheumatology, PLLC

Notice of Data Security Incident

On April 10, 2017, Northwest Rheumatology (“NW Rheumatology”) discovered a ransomware incident which left a limited portion of our computer system encrypted and inaccessible. We immediately involved our computer security vendor who investigated the matter. The vendor informed us that no protected health information was accessed or acquired during the incident. Based on this report, we believed that the attack on our systems was limited and that patient information was not affected.

On June 18, 2017, while finalizing our internal recovery efforts related to the incident, our computer security vendor informed us that they had discovered additional evidence of unauthorized access to our systems. We immediately hired an independent computer forensic firm to conduct an in-depth investigation. On July 6, 2017, they confirmed that an unauthorized individual had gained access to our systems. However, the forensic investigators could not determine whether any protected health information had actually been accessed as a result of the attack. From our review, it appears that patient names, addresses, Social Security numbers, health insurance information, diagnoses, and demographic data may have been stored on our systems during the time of the incident.

While NW Rheumatology has no evidence that any patient information was accessed or removed from the system, out of an abundance of caution we have sent affected patients a letter informing them of this incident, and offering, at no cost, one year of credit monitoring and identity restoration services through Epiq. To enroll for Epiq’s services please visit www.myservices.equifax.com/silver and enter the registration code provided in the letter you received. NW Rheumatology urges its patients to take advantage of these services.

NW Rheumatology has taken steps to enhance the security of its systems, and we continue to actively work with our computer security vendor to ensure that all information maintained by NW Rheumatology is kept secure. In addition to implementing new, stronger password policies across our systems, we have moved to new, more secure service providers.

If you have any questions about this incident, please call 1-800-342-9326, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this incident may cause our patients.

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