Geisinger reports data security breach involving third-party vendor

DANVILLE, Pa (WJAC) — According to a company release, Geisinger announced that a third-party vendor, Blackbaud Inc, which provides "cloud-based data solutions for organizations nationwide, including the Geisinger Foundation," discovered that an "unauthorized" individual gained access to their system between Feb. 7 and May 20.

Geisinger health officials say they have already begun notifying patients who may have been affected, but note that Social Security numbers and financial information were NOT stored in the specific database that was targeted.

Company officials note that following an internal investigation, Geisinger discovered that some patient information, including names, birthdates, age, gender, dates of treatment, departments of service, treating physicians and/or medical record numbers were compromised.

“At Geisinger, we take our patients’ privacy incredibly seriously and we are here to help anyone who may have questions or concerns about this incident,” said Jonathan Friesen, Geisinger’s chief privacy officer. “To help prevent something like this from happening again, we are reviewing what information is stored at Blackbaud and its proposed security enhancements.”

Geisinger notes that it has established a call center to answer any questions related to the incident, which can be reached at 877-591-0212, and is available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

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