October 23, 2018
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
The Smilow Center for Translational Research, left, and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) informed parents and guardians of patients past and present on Tuesday about two data breaches over the summer.
On August 23 and 29, an unauthorized user gained access to a CHOP physician's email account, with the breaches discovered on August 24 and September 9, respectively. After gaining knowledge of the incidents, CHOP immediately began an investigation with the aid of a forensic team, the hospital said.
The investigation found that the email accounts contained some patient health information, which may have included information such as: patient name, date of birth and clinical information related to neonatal or fetal care provided at CHOP or at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). CHOP assured the public that no Social Security numbers or financial information was accessed.
CHOP mailed letters Tuesday to patient families whose information was compromised. While unaware of any misuse of patient information, officials advise families to carefully review any health care or insurance statements they receive to ensure they were not charged for services they did not receive.
CHOP has established a dedicated call center for patients with questions at 1-800-643-9180, which can be accessed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Or, visit their website for more information on the breach.
