Data Breach Impacts Patients, Employees of Dermatology Practice  

Patients and employees of Forefront Dermatology, S.C., may have had their private information exposed during a recent cyberattack.  

The data breach may have included Forefront Dermatology patients' names, addresses, dates of birth, patient account numbers, health insurance plan member ID numbers, medical record numbers, dates of service, accession numbers, provider names, and/or medical and clinical treatment information, according to a press release published on July 8.  

“There is no evidence that patient Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, or financial account /payment card information were involved in this incident,” the Forefront Dermatology release stated.  

Forefront, which has offices in 21 states, announced that it identified the cyber incident and is currently notifying patients and employees impacted by the breach. 

“We deeply regret any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause,” the release stated. “We take this matter very seriously and are continuing to enhance our security protocols to help prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future.” 

The dermatology practice said it wrapped up its investigation into the cyberattack on June 24.  

In a press release, the practice stated that “the incident resulted in unauthorized access to certain files on its IT systems that contain patient and employee information. The company first identified the intrusion on June 4, 2021, and immediately took its network offline to protect the information it maintains and secure its systems.” 

 In addition, the dermatology practice launched an investigation and notified law enforcement. 

“The investigation determined that unauthorized parties gained access to Forefront Dermatology's IT network between the dates of May 28, 2021 and June 4, 2021 and accessed certain files that contain information pertaining to some patients.”  

The incident impacted a small number of patients but the practice could “not rule out the possibility that files containing other patients' information may have been subject to unauthorized access.”  

Forefront is notifying any patients involved and advising them to review any healthcare and insurance statements.  

“If individuals see services they did not receive, they should contact the provider or health plan immediately,” it stated.  

Any patient impacted by the data breach will receive a notification by email or mail.  

The dermatology office also set up a toll-free number for an incident response line, open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. CT. Patients can call 855-899-4166.  

“To help prevent something like this from happening again, Forefront Dermatology is enhancing its security protocols,” the release stated.  

Editor's Note: This article has been updated.