SAN ANTONIO – Hackers recently accessed the computer network of CentroMed and “acquired” patient information, the San Antonio-based healthcare provider said Friday.
“I just cried, I cried because it’s ridiculous that we’re having to deal with something like this,” said Isabel Correa, a CentroMed patient.
According to a news release, an investigation revealed that an “unauthorized party accessed some of its systems on or about April 30, 2024″ and “accessed and/or acquired files that contain information pertaining to CentroMed’s current and former patients.”
“It’s frustrating that now we can’t get a copy of our records because my disability was denied because they could not give them my records,” said Correa.
Correa says she suffered a stroke last month; she is not cleared to work and is not sure when she will be.
“I’m a single mom, it’s hard when you don’t have money coming in,” said Correa.
Another patient, Beverly Ohlhausen, says she’s having the same issue with accessing her records but is also worried about her personal information.
“What can they do with this? They can use it for identity theft, you name it, anything,” said Ohlhausen.
According to CentroMed, some of the information hackers may have seized included patient names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and financial account information, CentroMed said.
The investigation’s results come three days after KSAT 12 News reported that CentroMed patients were having issues with the healthcare provider’s computer network. Patients reported having issues online that made it difficult to receive care and schedule appointments. The next day, CentroMed said it was looking into the matter and took steps to secure its IT systems.
CentroMed on Friday started notifying patients whose information may have been stolen in the incident. The healthcare provider also posted information about the incident on its website and set up a call center to answer questions that patients may have.
The number to call is 888-990-8424, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Central Time (excluding major U.S. holidays).
CentroMed recommends that affected patients review healthcare provider statements and contact them immediately if they notice discrepancies. Patients are also urged to review financial account statements for possible suspicious activity and report it to their financial institutions.
The healthcare provider said it takes the “incident very seriously and sincerely regrets any concern this may cause. To help prevent something like this from happening again, it has implemented additional safeguards and technical security measures to further protect and monitor its systems.”
This is not the first time that CentroMed’s IT systems have been hacked. A similar incident occurred in June 2023.
Jeff Fair, the San Antonio Chamber’s vice president of cybersecurity, says it’s hard to recover sensitive information once it’s exposed. He recommends looking into a data monitoring service.
“Sometimes It’s sold in huge bundles of data so you may never have an issue or 20 Years from now you may have an issue so the best thing you can do is have some sort of monitoring,” said Fair.