A Notice to Our Patients
The Emergency Medical Services Authority is committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of our patients’ information. Regrettably, we recently identified and addressed a security incident that involved some of that information.
On February 13, 2024, EMSA identified suspicious activity in our IT network. We immediately initiated our incident response protocols, which involved shutting off select systems as a proactive measure. We also launched an investigation with the assistance of a third-party forensic firm and notified law enforcement. The investigation determined that an unauthorized party gained access to our network and, between February 10, 2024 and February 13, 2024, acquired files that contained information pertaining to certain EMSA patients. The information involved varied by individual, but generally included one or more of the following: name, address, date of birth, date of service, and, for some, name of primary care provider and/or Social Security number.
As a precaution, we are mailing notification letters to patients whose information may have been involved and for whom we have sufficient contact information. We have also established a dedicated, toll-free call center to answer questions about the incident. If you have questions, please call (866) 495-7098, available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Time. We are providing individuals whose Social Security numbers were involved with a complimentary offer to credit monitoring and identity protection support services. Additionally, we’d like to remind patients that it is always a good idea to carefully review the communications they receive from their healthcare providers, including electronic messages, billing statements, and other written communication. If patients see charges for services they did not receive, they should contact the issuing provider immediately.
To help prevent something like this from happening again, we have implemented, and will continue to adopt, additional safeguards to further protect and monitor our systems.