Shields Health Care Group, Inc. Announces Data Breach | Console and Associates, P.C.

On July 22, 2022, Shields Well being Care Team, Inc. submitted an official recognize of a information breach with different state authorities entities after an unauthorized bash acquired access to the company’s personal computer units for a interval of about two months. In accordance to Shields, the breach resulted in the names, entire names, Social Stability numbers, dates of beginning, household addresses, company details, analysis, billing details, insurance policy figures and information, professional medical record numbers, affected individual identification numbers, and other medical or treatment method information and facts of specific individuals being compromised. Right after confirming the breach and figuring out all affected parties, Shields Wellness Treatment Group began sending out info breach letters to all affected get-togethers.

If you been given a knowledge breach notification, it is important you realize what is at hazard and what you can do about it. To master extra about how to secure you from getting to be a sufferer of fraud or id theft and what your legal selections are in the wake of the Shields Well being Treatment Group details breach, be sure to see our new piece on the subject matter listed here.

What We Know About the Shields Health and fitness Treatment Group Info Breach

The info about the Shields Wellbeing Care Team, Inc. knowledge breach comes from the files filed with many state governments as effectively as a notice supplied on the company’s web site. In accordance to the most just lately released info, on March 28, 2022, Shields Wellness Treatment Group was created informed of suspicious action on its computer network. In reaction, the organization engaged 3rd-occasion forensic professionals to investigate the incident in hopes of discovering a lot more about its results in as nicely as whether or not any patient facts was leaked as a consequence.

The company’s investigation unveiled that an unauthorized social gathering attained access to Shields Well being Treatment Group’s laptop or computer procedure on March 7, 2022, and preserved entry right until March 21, 2022. The investigation also verified that the unauthorized celebration stole details from the company’s method.

On discovering that sensitive customer data was stolen by an unauthorized party, Shields Health Care Group then commenced the course of action of examining all impacted documents to decide what information and facts was compromised and which shoppers were being impacted by the incident. While the breached info varies relying on the person, it may perhaps include things like your whole identify, Social Stability range, date of birth, residence deal with, company information, analysis, billing data, coverage variety and information and facts, professional medical report selection, patient identification range, and other medical or remedy info.

On July 22, 2022, Shields Wellbeing Treatment Group despatched out info breach letters to all individuals whose information and facts was compromised as a result of the the latest information stability incident.

Shields Health and fitness Care Group, Inc. describes in its data breach letter that the organization delivers administration and imaging companies on behalf of a variety of wellbeing treatment services. Thus, it seems possible that the unauthorized party was equipped to entry details belonging to clients of any of these affiliate amenities. The record of affiliated amenities supplied by Shields Wellness Care Group consists of:

• Baystate Well being Urgent Care, LLC

• Baystate MRI & Imaging Middle, LLC

• Brighton Imaging Middle, LLC

• Cape Cod CT Expert services, LLC

• Cape Cod Imaging Solutions, LLC (a enterprise associate to Falmouth Hospital Association, Inc)

• Cape Cod PET/CT Companies, LLC

• Cape Cod Radiation Remedy Support, LLC

• Central Maine Professional medical Center

• Emerson Clinic

• Slide River/New Bedford Regional MRI Restricted Partnership

• Falmouth Clinic Association, Inc.

• Franklin MRI Middle, LLC

• Lahey Clinic MRI Products and services, LLC

• Massachusetts Bay MRI Limited Partnership

• Mercy Imaging, Inc.

• MRI/CT of Providence, LLC

• Newton-Wellesley MRI Restricted Partnership

• NW Imaging Administration Firm, LLC (a business affiliate to Newton Wellesley Orthopedic Associates, Inc.)

• Newton-Wellesley Imaging, Pc

• Newton Wellesley Orthopedic Associates, Inc.

• Northern MASS MRI Providers, Inc.

• PET-CT Providers by Tufts Healthcare Middle and Shields, LLC

• Shields and Athletics Medication Atlantic Imaging Administration Co, LLC (a business associate SportsMedicine Atlantic Orthopaedics P.A.)

• Shields CT of Brockton, LLC

• Shields Imaging at Anna Jaques Clinic, LLC

• Shields Healthcare of Cambridge, Inc.

• Shields Imaging at College Healthcare facility, LLC

• Shields Imaging at York Clinic, LLC

• Shields Imaging Administration at Emerson Medical center, LLC (a organization associate to Emerson Medical center)

• Shields Imaging of Japanese Mass, LLC

• Shields Imaging of Lowell Common Hospital, LLC

• Shields Imaging of Portsmouth, LLC

• Shields Imaging with Central Maine Health, LLC (a enterprise associate to Central Maine Healthcare Center)

• Shields Administration Enterprise, Inc.

• Shields MRI & Imaging Center of Cape Cod, LLC

• Shields MRI of Framingham, LLC

• Shields PET/CT at CMMC, LLC

• Shields PET_CT at Berkshire Medical Centre, LLC

• Shields PET-CT at Cooley Dickinson Healthcare facility, LLC

• Shields PET-CT at Emerson Hospital, LLC

• Shields Radiology Associates, Computer

• Shields Signature Imaging, LLC

• Shields Durable PET-CT, LLC

• Shields-Tufts Medical Heart Imaging Administration, LLC (a business associate to Tufts Clinical Middle, Inc.)

• South Shore Regional MRI Restricted Partnership

• Southeastern Massachusetts Regional MRI Limited Partnership

• SportsMedicine Atlantic Orthopaedics P.A.

• Tufts Health care Middle, Inc.

• UMass Memorial HealthAlliance MRI Middle, LLC

• UMass Memorial MRI – Marlborough, LLC

• UMass Memorial MRI & Imaging Center, LLC

• Winchester Medical center / Shields MRI, LLC

• Radiation Therapy of Southeastern Massachusetts, LLC

• Radiation Remedy of Winchester, LLC

• South Suburban Oncology Center Restricted Partnership

• Shields Imaging of North Shore, LLC

More Info About Shields Wellness Treatment Group, Inc.

Based in Brighton, Massachusetts, Shields Health Treatment Group, Inc. is a health care organization that delivers a array of companies to people throughout New England. A lot more especially, Shields features MRI, PET/CT, and ambulatory surgical expert services to patients at extra than 40 areas in Massachusetts and Maine. Shields Wellbeing Treatment Group employs much more than 754 folks and generates roughly $200 million in annual profits.

Protected Well being Information Is a Popular Concentrate on for Hackers

The Shields Wellbeing Care Team data breach impacted many distinctive sorts of affected person info, together with Social Protection figures, insurance details, well being data and remedy information. Though Shields did not use the phrase “protected wellness information” to describe the leaked information, it appears that the compromised affected individual facts was in truth shielded health info.

Guarded wellbeing info is information that relates to a patient’s health issue or how a affected individual pays for their healthcare. For case in point, the outcomes of an MRI or insurance policy claims facts could each be deemed protected overall health facts. Even so, any leaked health and fitness data is only regarded as guarded if it contains at the very least one particular identifier, this sort of as a patient’s identify, email handle, physical tackle, photograph or Social Security number.

The effects of a health care details breach can end result in far more than just a headache. By thieving a patient’s safeguarded health and fitness info, hackers have plenty of facts to commit healthcare identification theft from the client. Healthcare identification theft is often considerably more difficult to solve and arrives at a considerably larger price to individuals than traditional info breaches involving financial institution account or credit score card data.

This is simply because health care facts breaches can place patients’ bodily overall health in jeopardy. Generally, after a breach, a hacker sells affected individual data to a 3rd celebration, who then employs this info to get hold of health-related treatment in the victim’s name. In performing so, the “fake patient” could give health professionals with their very own details that finishes up obtaining combined up with the victim’s professional medical file. For illustration, a faux individual may well give a managing health practitioner a record of their have past professional medical treatments, present remedies or allergy symptoms. This can result in a patient’s medical history made up of inaccurate facts when they go to the medical professional for procedure.