Palomar Health investigates whether patient data was exposed in a “cyber incident”

Palomar Health Medical Group announced Thursday that its operations have been fully restored following a “cyber incident” two months ago.

Representatives of the group said they worked with outside cybersecurity experts to resolve the issue and successfully recovered the data. Currently, all systems at Palomar's locations have been “successfully recovered,” a press release said. Patients can schedule appointments by calling their doctor's office.

“We value our community’s trust in our care and have taken every possible step to secure our systems and data,” said Russ Riehl, interim president of Palomar Health Medical Group.

An investigation found that while some data was accessed without authorization, the group responded promptly and took steps to ensure patient safety and protection.

Over the past two months, officials worked “around the clock” with cybersecurity teams to restore and secure the affected data. They said these efforts “ensured that the affected data was restored and removed from unauthorized locations.”

The group will continue its “detailed review” of the affected data to determine whether any personal or health information of individuals was affected by the incident.

If this is the case, officials will contact the individuals concerned directly as soon as further information is available.

Palomar Health Medical Group provides primary and specialty care to more than 200,000 patients through 20 locations in 12 cities and neighborhoods throughout North County and southern Riverside County.