Announcements

Providence Health Plan notification of a security incident

15 June 2021

Providence Health Plan and Providence Health Assurance have notified affected individuals of a security incident involving health plan member information.

What Happened

Providence Health Plan hires temporary workers for short term tasks. In April 2021, Providence discovered a temporary worker had successfully sent protected health information to their personal email address. This worker was hired to assist Providence with managing quality review documentation. While this worker was authorized to access information to perform their job duties, they were not authorized to send information to their personal email address.

What Information Was Involved

The information the worker emailed themselves was a spreadsheet with member names, ID numbers, dates of birth, health plan coverage types, associated provider and clinic names, and quality measurement abbreviations. The spreadsheet did not contain Social Security numbers or any financial information.

What We Are Doing

Providence verified the worker deleted all emails and has obtained a signed, written statement that they did not save or share the information or use it for non-work related purposes. The worker is no longer employed by Providence.

All affected individuals have been sent notification by mail. As the spreadsheet did not include financial information or Social Security numbers, it is unlikely this information could be used to exploit credit. However, out of an abundance of caution, we are offering identity theft protection services through IDX.

What You Can Do

Affected individuals can contact IDX with any questions and to enroll in free IDX services by calling (833) 406-2402, TTY/TDD 711, Monday through Friday from 6 am - 6 pm Pacific Time. Please note the deadline to enroll is September 15, 2021.  IDX representatives have been fully versed on the incident and can answer affected individual’s questions or concerns.