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Amerita Notifies Nearly 220K of PharMerica Data Breach

Other recently reported healthcare data breaches include a breach at PurFoods and one at MedMinder Systems.

Jill McKeon
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Published: 19 Sep 2023

Amerita, a specialty infusion services company, notified 219,707 individuals of a healthcare data breach that stemmed from its parent company, PharMerica. As previously reported, long-term care pharmacy network PharMerica disclosed a breach in May that impacted more than 5.8 million individuals.

According to the Amerita notice, PharMerica learned of suspicious activity within its network in March 2023 and promptly launched an investigation. The company later determined that an unauthorized party had accessed Amerita computer systems between March 12 and 13.

“Amerita recently identified a data set involved in the incident that contained the personal information of some Amerita patients. The information at-issue included name, address and certain patient information such as medical history, diagnosis, medications and health insurance information,” the notice to patients stated.

“We have no indication that the incident involved Amerita patients’ Social Security numbers or driver’s license numbers.”

Amerita said it had received no reports of fraud or identity theft stemming from the breach but encouraged impacted individuals to monitor credit reports and account statements.

PurFoods Breach Impacts 1.2 Million Records

More than 1.2 million individuals were notified of a breach at PurFoods, also known as Mom’s Meals. PurFoods serves meals to Medicare and Medicaid members. The company suffered a cyberattack between January 16 and February 22, 2023.

Amid the cyberattack, a bad actor was able to encrypt files on the PurFoods network, and the company was unable to rule out the possibility that data was taken from its servers.

The files contained birth dates, driver’s license numbers, payment information, medical record numbers, Medicare and Medicaid information, treatment information, diagnosis codes, health insurance information, and patient ID numbers pertaining to clients and some current and former employees.

“It’s important to note that we have seen no evidence that any personal information was misused or further disclosed as a result of the cyberattack,” the notice stated.

PurFoods said it has since taken steps to strengthen its network security and identify additional safeguards.

MedMinder Systems Discloses Data Breach

MedMinder Systems notified 12,146 individuals of a recent data breach. MedMinder’s system combines a full-service pharmacy with a smart pill dispenser. The company discovered unauthorized access to its network between February 7 and February 21, 2023.

Further investigation determined that an unauthorized actor had removed information from MedMinder’s network, including names, dates of birth, and prescription information.

“Please accept our apologies that this incident occurred. We are committed to maintaining the privacy of personal information in our possession and have taken many precautions to safeguard it,” the notice said.

“We continually evaluate and modify our practices and internal controls to enhance the security and privacy of personal information. Specifically, since the incident, we have enhanced our security infrastructure by implementing advanced threat detection and monitoring mechanisms to identify and respond to any future security incidents more effectively.”

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