Reston Doctor's Office Hacked, 13,000 Patient Records Compromised

RESTON, VA — If you've gone to Professional Dermatology Care in Reston at any point, here's a heads up: the doctor's office got hacked, and more than 13,000 patient records have been compromised.

In a recent statement, Professional Dermatology Care acknowledged that on June 27 the office had "discovered a potential data breach of its network server."

"Following a comprehensive cybersecurity and forensic investigation, PDC, P.C. learned that unauthorized third parties from outside the United States may have recently accessed and obtained patient protected health information and financial data between June 19, 2016 and June 27, 2016," the statement continues. "In the ten years of having electronic medical records this had never happened. However, as part of a nationwide string of similar incidents, the criminals encrypted patient data via 'Ransom ware.' PDC, P.C. believes the criminals' motive was to extract money from the company in order to de-encrypt data, rather than for the misuse of patient data."

The released information may include patient names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security and Medicare numbers, and medical and billing records.

"Although the company is not aware of any misuse of patient protected health information or financial data by an unauthorized individual, patients are strongly encouraged to take steps to eliminate or minimize any potential harm that could be caused by the incident," the statement adds. "This includes, but is not limited to, obtaining credit reports from one or more of the three major credit reporting agencies, registering a fraud alert with the credit reporting agencies, and monitoring financial and health accounts for unauthorized activity."

The office did not say how many patient records were compromised; however, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website lists the individuals affected in that breach as 13,237.

Professional Dermatology Care is located at 1801 Robert Fulton Drive, Suite 520, in Reston.

Image via Professional Dermatology Care