Quest Diagnostics reports data breach that may have affected 11.9 million patients

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Quest Diagnostics says a security breach may have exposed the personal information of more than 11 million patients.

A statement on Quest's website reads, in part: "American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA), a billing collections service provider, has informed Quest Diagnostics that an unauthorized user had access to AMCA’s system containing personal information AMCA received from various entities, including from Quest. AMCA provides billing collections services to Optum360, which in turn is a Quest contractor. Quest and Optum360 are working with forensic experts to investigate the matter.

AMCA first notified Quest and Optum360 on May 14, 2019 of potential unauthorized activity on AMCA’s web payment page. On May 31, 2019, AMCA notified Quest and Optum360 that the data on AMCA’s affected system included information regarding approximately 11.9 million Quest patients. AMCA believes this information includes personal information, including certain financial data, Social Security numbers, and medical information, but not laboratory test results."

Officials say since learning of the AMCA data breach, Quest has suspended sending collection requests to AMCA.

Visit Questdiagnostics.com to learn more.