News Summary
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare has experienced a significant data breach involving sensitive patient information, potentially due to vendor Cerner. The breach began as early as January and impacted critical data such as Social Security numbers and medical records. While TMH continues operations without disruption, the incident has raised concerns over cybersecurity in healthcare. TMH is offering affected patients identity protection services amidst ongoing investigations by law enforcement and cybersecurity experts.
Tallahassee – A significant data breach potentially caused by vendor Cerner has compromised sensitive patient information at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH). The healthcare facility informed affected patients of the incident on June 13, 2025, following unauthorized access to data that may have begun as early as January 22, 2025.
The breach involved an unknown party who reached out to TMH on March 13, claiming possession of certain patient information. In response, TMH immediately launched an investigation, working with cybersecurity specialists and notifying law enforcement authorities.
The compromised data may include critical personal information such as names, Social Security numbers, and comprehensive patient medical records, including diagnoses, medications, test results, images, and treatment history. TMH spokesperson Stephanie M. Derzypolski stated that TMH is among numerous healthcare organizations affected by such breaches nationally.
Despite this breach, TMH emphasized that its current electronic health record system remains uncompromised, and healthcare operations continued without disruption. Cerner, an electronic health record company that TMH no longer utilizes, requested TMH to delay the breach disclosure due to ongoing law enforcement investigations.
Additionally, TMH has faced previous cybersecurity challenges, including a suspected ransomware attack earlier in 2023. These incidents have raised concerns regarding the security and integrity of patient data within the healthcare sector.
In late 2024, TMH was forced to cancel surgeries and procedures due to a hardware disruption in its computer systems. This latest breach follows a series of cybersecurity incidents that have become increasingly common within the healthcare industry, especially amid the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In light of the breach, TMH and Cerner are collaborating to offer affected patients complimentary identity protection services, which include two years of credit monitoring to safeguard against potential identity theft. Cerner confirmed a security event that led to unauthorized access to protected health information stored on legacy systems, prompting the company to implement necessary remediation measures.
Although the specific details surrounding the affected individuals vary, TMH underscored that the access to personal information was not uniform among those impacted. Following the breach, TMH took immediate action by instructing staff to turn off all PCs connected to the TMH network to mitigate any further risk.
As a result of recent cyberattacks, TMH’s operations faced substantial challenges, including the diversion of emergency medical services (EMS) to alternative facilities. Only the most critical trauma cases were accepted during this period, and non-emergency and elective procedures scheduled for the following Monday were canceled amid security concerns.
Cybersecurity expert Max Henderson noted that disruptions within hospitals due to such incidents can have long-lasting repercussions, both for patient care and operational efficiency. The FBI is actively working with TMH to assess the situation and investigate the security event, while TMH teams collaborate with state and federal agencies for further scrutiny.
During periods of downtime caused by the breach, TMH had to rely on paper documentation, complicating patient registration and record-keeping processes. As public interest in the breach details grows, TMH has limited disclosures due to privacy and security concerns.
This incident is indicative of a broader trend of cybersecurity vulnerabilities within U.S. healthcare, highlighting the significant disruptions hospitals have encountered due to ransomware attacks and other cyber threats over the last few years. As cybercriminals increasingly target healthcare organizations, the urgency for robust cybersecurity measures has never been greater.
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Additional Resources
- Tallahassee.com: TMH Data Breach
- Wikipedia: Data Breach
- CNN: Cyberattack at Tallahassee Memorial
- Google Search: Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Data Breach
- Healthcare IT News: FBI Investigation at TMH
- Google Scholar: Cybersecurity in Healthcare
- Fierce Healthcare: TMH System Offline
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Cybersecurity
- The Capitolist: TMH Resumes Operations
- Google News: Healthcare Data Breaches
