Imaging company's security incident hits patients in their wallets
Patients who were scheduled for exams at Touchstone Medical Imaging centers in Texas are frustrated after the company’s recent cyber breach has affected not just their schedules and care, but their wallets too.
In late December 2021, Touchstone, headquartered in Plano, Texas, canceled the exams of many patients due to what the company described as a “security incident.” Though it has since resumed services, the full details of the incident in question have not yet been released and that has some patients concerned, CBSN Dallas-Fort Worth reported Jan. 13.
“I think we need answers, and I think they need to be honest with us and quit using broad terms for everybody to try and guess what exactly happened,” Sarah Hudson, a patient in North Texas, said to the news outlet. “My concern is if they were hacked. Did they get my information? Social security number? They have your driver’s license…Are they able to see the X-rays or CTs?”
In addition to patients’ sensitive data potentially being leaked, the timing of the incident is also financially problematic for many. The breach happened at the end of December, which caused many exams to be pushed into January—a new insurance year with new, unmet deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses.
This isn’t the first time the imaging company has found itself in hot water with patients. In 2019 Touchstone was ordered to pay a $3 million federal fine following a different security breach that happened in Florida.
Touchstone has not commented on the incident beyond an initial statement informing patients that it had safely resumed services.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.