HHS OCR breach portal (HIPAA breaches affecting 500 or more individuals) Primary notice
Posted on the HHS OCR breach portal (HIPAA breaches affecting 500 or more individuals) with a submission date of July 31, 2017.
- Organization as reported
- Northwest Rheumatology, AZ
- Entity type as reported
- Healthcare Provider
- Category as reported
Hacking/IT Incident
- Location of information as reported
- Network Server
- Submission date
- July 31, 2017
- Observed by BreachRecords
- 2026-10-18 16:15 UTC (revision 14109, row:5248)
- Archived copy
- Held in the private archive (provenance)
On April 10, 2017, the covered entity (CE), Northwest Rheumatology, experienced a ransomware incident which left a limited portion of its computer system encrypted and inaccessible. Upon investigation the CE determined that 7,468 individuals’ electronic protected health information (ePHI) may have been affected, including clinical and demographic information. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, the affected individuals, and the media. In response to OCR’s investigation, the CE strengthened password requirements, implemented new technical safeguards, revised business associate contracts, and retrained workforce members.