At least 108,000 users of one of the country's largest patient information portals, ManageMyHealth, are believed to have been affected by a data breach on Wednesday.
Impacted customers who used the online service, which allowed clinicians to access patient medical records, should hear from the company within the next 48 hours about whether and how their information was accessed.
ManageMyHealth believed between 6% and 7% of the approximately 1.8 million registered users may have been impacted. That equated to between 108,000 and 126,000 users.
Earlier, chief executive Vino Ramayah assured users, customers and stakeholders that ManageMyHealth took the protection of health information "extremely seriously".
"We understand how personal and sensitive health information is, and we recognise the stress an incident like this can cause. Our team is working hard to identify those affected, and to communicate directly and transparently," Ramayah said.
Ramayah also said the Office of the Privacy Commissioner had been notified and was working with ManageMyHealth to meet obligations under privacy legislation.
Health Minister Simeon Brown described the breach as "concerning" and said Health NZ was working closely with ManageMyHealth to ensure it was being appropriately addressed.
"At this stage, there is no evidence any HNZ systems, including My Health Account, have been compromised as ManageMyHealth has separate systems,” he said.
“ManageMyHealth and government agencies are working closely together to fully understand the scope of the breach and to protect the privacy of patients.
“HNZ is coordinating with agencies, including the National Cyber Security Centre, to ensure all the right steps are being taken.”
“I have been advised that there is no clinical impact on patient care as a result of this cyber incident, and health services continue to operate as normal,” Brown added.
HNZ acting national director of planning, funding & outcomes Jason Power said ManageMyHealth was expected to meet "clear" standards around system security, transparency, and communication with its users.
He said HNZ would continue to monitor progress, keeping up active engagement with ManageMyHealth and partner agencies.
"Health NZ is speaking with primary care organisations and GPs who use the service.
"There is a shared focus on patient safety, clear communication, and ensuring appropriate protections are in place."
SHARE ME