The personal wellness details (PHI) of more than 72,000 Walgreens shoppers has been uncovered after looters broke into approximately 200 shops and stole prescriptions.
America’s 2nd-major pharmaceutical chain contacted impacted clients in July to disclose the details breach. Walgreens spokesperson Jim Cohn told the Philadelphia Inquirer that 180 Walgreens merchants experienced been looted but declined to state which particular ones.
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“As aspect of a complete investigation and evaluation of the harm, we figured out there was also confined unauthorized obtain to specific affected individual data at some of these broken areas,” Cohn reported in a assertion.
Walgreens reported that although paper data and loaded prescriptions ended up swiped by looters, no economic information and facts or Social Security quantities belonging to prospects were being exposed.
In a breach notification letter dated July 24, Walgreens wrote: “Sometime among May possibly 26 and June 5 2020, many groups of people broke into a number of Walgreens suppliers and pressured entry into the secured pharmacy at pick out locations, together with your favored Walgreens.
“Among the a lot of items stolen had been sure things containing health-connected facts — this kind of as filled prescriptions ready for consumer pick up and paper information.”
Sensitive details exposed in the spate of looting included customers’ entire identify, tackle, day of birth/age, phone amount, email address, equilibrium benefits figures and image ID figures. Vaccination details was also uncovered alongside with prescription information and clinical and wellness plan data.
The letter went on to condition: “Upon studying of the possible compromise of data, Walgreens immediately took techniques to shut out and re-enter impacted prescriptions in our procedure to prevent opportunity fraud relating to the unique prescription.”
Walgreens explained that it was coordinating with regional regulation enforcement the place suitable and had taken steps to reverse insurance statements for any stolen crammed prescriptions that experienced by now been billed to health plans.
Impacted clients have been supplied a person year of credit score checking free of cost and have been presented information on how to get hold of and keep track of credit score stories. Clients had been more advised to “follow-up with your insurance policies business or the treatment provider for any goods you don’t realize.”
According to facts in the Business office for Civil Legal rights (OCR) breach portal, the information breach might have afflicted 72,143 Walgreens prospects.