A Notice to Patients of our Neonatal and Fetal Programs Regarding Recent Email Incidents

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is providing to the parents or guardians of some of its current and former patients notice of two recent email incidents, both involving health information.                                                                                                                                                        

The first incident, identified on August 24, 2018, occurred when an unauthorized user gained access to a CHOP physician’s email account on August 23, 2018. A second incident, uncovered on September 6, 2018, identified unauthorized access to an additional email account on August 29, 2018.

Once the unauthorized access was identified, CHOP immediately began an investigation with support from a leading forensic firm. The investigation determined that the email accounts contained some patient health information, which may have included patient name, date of birth, and clinical information related to neonatal and/or fetal care provided at CHOP or, in some instances, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). These incidents affected a limited number of mothers and babies and did not include the Social Security numbers or financial and credit information of any patients or their parents.

While CHOP is not aware of any actual or attempted misuse of patient information related to these incidents, on October 23, 2018, letters were mailed to patient families whose information was contained in these email accounts. Potentially affected patients are advised to carefully review the statements they receive from their healthcare providers. If they see services that were not received, they should contact their healthcare provider immediately.

CHOP takes this matter very seriously, and to help prevent future incidents is taking significant measures to provide enhanced levels of security for its email system.

CHOP has established a dedicated call center for patients with questions at 1-800-643-9180, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. For those who have received neonatal and/or fetal care provided at CHOP or HUP, please visit the CHOP home page for more information.

CHOP values the privacy and confidentiality of its patients and deeply regrets any concern or inconvenience these incidents may cause patients and their families.