Patient data among files accessed in Virginia Mason Franciscan Health data breach

A hacking incident in October that impacted workers at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and its patients was determined to be ransomware and patient information was accessed, according to a statement from CommonSpirit Health, a parent company.

In October, VMFH released a statement that it had taken certain IT systems offline as a precaution, which impacted health records and other systems.

VMFH provided a statement in October, saying, “We take our responsibility to ensure the privacy of our patients and IT security very seriously. As a result of this incident, we have rescheduled some patient appointments.”

On Thursday, CommonSpirit Health said an investigation revealed an unauthorized third party gained access to portions of their network, which including files that contained personal information.

CommonSpirit Health noted it had no evidence that any personal information had been misused as a result of the incident.

A review of the data is ongoing, but data in the files related to patients, family members or caregivers of patients could possibly include locations St. Joseph Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, St. Elizabeth Hospital, St. Clare Hospital, St. Anthony Hospital, St. Anne Hospital, St. Michael Medical Center and clinics associated with Franciscan Health.

Letters to those affected by the breach were being sent by U.S. mail, starting Thursday.