Kansas Joint & Spine Specialists

A data breach was reported at Kansas Joint & Spine Specialists in Wichita, affecting 397 patients according to the Texas Attorney General’s Office[1]. The breach was part of a “cybersecurity incident” that occurred in June and may have affected both patients and employees[7]. The specific details of the information compromised in the breach have not been disclosed, and it is unclear whether the hospital paid any ransom to the attackers[7]. Kansas Joint & Spine Specialists is among several healthcare providers that have experienced data breaches, which pose significant risks to patients’ private medical and financial information[7].

The breach at Kansas Joint & Spine Specialists is listed in a state data breach browser, which indicates that the incident was reported on July 12, 2023, and classified as a “Hacking/IT Incident” affecting 83,869 individuals[3]. This discrepancy in the number of affected individuals between the Texas Attorney General’s report and the state data breach browser suggests that further clarification may be needed to understand the full scope of the breach.

Patients have the right to be notified if there is a breach of their protected health information, as stated in the privacy policy of Kansas Spine & Specialty Hospital[5]. However, it is important to note that the privacy policy link provided refers to Kansas Spine & Specialty Hospital, which may or may not be directly related to Kansas Joint & Spine Specialists.

Overall, the breach at Kansas Joint & Spine Specialists is part of a larger trend of cybersecurity incidents affecting healthcare providers, which can lead to the exposure of sensitive patient information and pose challenges to patient privacy and health[7].

Citations:

1. https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/data-breach-reported-at-wichita-medical-clinic/
2. https://atriumhealth.org
3. https://breachdata.topwords.me/states/KS?offset=0&sort=reported_date
4. https://www.practicematch.com/physicians/jobs
5. https://www.ksspine.com/patients/privacy-policy/
6. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/hospital-penalties/
7. https://www.newsbreak.com/wichita-ks/3311398025551-how-ransomware-attacks-at-wichita-hospitals-threaten-your-privacy-and-health
8. https://ryortho.com/breaking/indictment-charges-spinefrontier-owner-in-alleged-kickback-scheme/
9. https://hcahealthcare.com/about/privacy-update.dot
10. https://www.odtmag.com/contents/view_breaking-news/2021-09-08/spinefrontier-ceo-and-cfo-arrested-and-charged-in-connection-with-kickback-scheme/
11. https://www.linkedin.com/company/thebeaconict?trk=similar-pages
12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2628504/
13. https://www.ksspine.com/patients/medical-records-privacy/