McLaren Oakland Hospital notified at least 2,219 of its patients this week that some of their personal information may have been compromised . The health care center says one of its computers may have been compromised.
Officials at the nonprofit hospital in Pontiacdiscovered a file on one of the institution's desktop computers that contained an unauthorized and insecure link to a file containing confidential patient health information, according to a statement from the hospital.
The link was accidentally left open by a hospital, but an investigation into the incident did not find it may have been used for illegal activity, McLaren Oakland said.
McLaren Hospital, which has notified patients potentially affected by the incident, has implemented additional training for staff to prevent similar incidents in the future. The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights has also been notified of the incident.
Patients were sent a letter asking them to carefully review their financial information and credit reports for any irregularities or suspicious activity they do not recognize and to notify their financial institutions if problems are identified. The notification letter includes details about free identity theft monitoring and protection services offered through McLaren.
