Security gap in radiology interface at NY practice exposes data of 63,500

A misconfigured security setting on a radiology interface at Middletown Medical, a multi-specialty physicians group in New York, led to a security breach exposing patient data, including radiology images, reports and Social Security numbers, according to HIPAA Journal.

The security error was spotted Jan. 29, 2018, and corrected the follow day. But, according to the report, it is unclear how long the patient data was exposed.

According to a data breach summary submitted to the HHS's Office for Civil Rights, as many as 63,551 patients had their health information unsecured. HIPAA Journal reported this as one of the largest healthcare security incidents to be reported this year.

""

Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.

Around the web

RBMA President Peter Moffatt discusses some of the biggest obstacles facing the specialty in the new year. 

Deepak Bhatt, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and principal investigator of the TRANSFORM trial, explains an emerging technique for cardiac screening: combining coronary CT angiography with artificial intelligence for plaque analysis to create an approach similar to mammography.

A total of 16 cardiology practices from 12 states settled with the DOJ to resolve allegations they overbilled Medicare for imaging agents used to diagnose cardiovascular disease.