Bangor-area health network warns 13,000 patients of potential data breach
Penobscot Community Health Care, a nonprofit primary care network serving the Bangor area, Belfast and Jackman, has notified patients that some of their personal records — including credit card information — may have been inappropriately accessed in a data breach.
An unauthorized person may have obtained data about 13,000 patients, stored by a billing collection contractor between August 2018 and March 2019, PCHC said on its website.
American Medical Collection Agency, based in Elmsford, N.Y., notified PCHC on May 15 of the potential breach. PCHC began sending letters about the incident to affected patients on July 12.
Information that may have been accessed includes names, dates of birth, names of medical providers, and in some cases credit card numbers. The agency told PCHC that the incident did not involve health care data, diagnosis records or treatment information.
PCHC has stopped doing business with the contractor and is taking steps to retrieve and secure all information contained in its systems, according to the website.
Patients who believe their information may have been compromised but who don’t receive a letter by Aug. 5 were advised to contact PCHC at 844-243-3018.
Penobscot Community Health Care operates 17 clinical sites and in 2016 treated over 65,000 patients, 70% of them lower-income persons or seniors. It is the largest of the 19 federally qualified health centers in Maine, and second-largest of the 100 centers in New England.
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