HCA Healthcare revealed Monday that it’s experienced what is likely the largest data breach ever reported by a health care provider, with approximately 11 million patients affected.
The for-profit hospital giant said hackers stole the data from an external storage location that’s used to automate emails and then posted the data to an online forum. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA, which operates more than 180 hospitals, said the compromised information includes patients’ names, email addresses, and service locations, but the company does not believe it includes clinical or payment information. The list of affected sites includes about 1,400 hospitals and physician offices across 20 states.
HCA did not disclose when the information was stolen, nor what time period it covered. HCA did not respond to a request for comment.