Piedmont Healthcare, Inc., Addresses
Pharm-Pacc Data Security Incident
Atlanta, Ga. (September 12, 2023) – Piedmont Healthcare, Inc. (“Piedmont”) announced today that it is mailing letters to some of its patients advising them of a data security incident that occurred at one of its vendors, Pharm-Pacc, Corporation (“Pharm-Pacc”). Pharm-Pacc provides claims processing and administrative services on behalf of Piedmont. Piedmont began mailing letters on September 12, 2023.
On March 24, 2023, Pharm-Pacc became aware of suspicious activity within its digital environment. In response, Pharm-Pacc, aided by an independent cybersecurity firm, began an investigation and discovered that on or around March 15, 2023, protected health information stored on Pharm-Pacc’s computer systems was accessed by an unauthorized person. This incident did not involve any access to Piedmont’s computer systems or electronic health records. Pharm-Pacc notified Piedmont Healthcare on July 14, 2023, that certain protected health information was accessed during this security incident.
The information that was stored on the compromised system in connection with this incident included names as well as other personally identifiable information/protected health information, depending on the individual.
As soon as Pharm-Pacc discovered this incident, it took steps to secure its environment and investigate the incident. In addition, Pharm-Pacc implemented measures to enhance the security of its digital environment in an effort to minimize the risk of a similar incident occurring in the future.
Although Pharm-Pacc does not know whether any of the information was taken or will be misused, Piedmont is providing patients whose information may have been compromised with information about steps that they can take to help protect themselves and is offering complimentary identity protection services through Kroll – a global leader in risk mitigation and response. These services include 12 months of Credit Monitoring, Fraud Consultation, and Identity Theft Restoration.
Piedmont has established a dedicated call center to answer any questions about this incident, at (866) 731-2976 from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (excluding major U.S. holidays).
Piedmont takes this matter very seriously and regrets any negative impact or inconvenience this incident may cause to its patients.