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ST. JOSEPH – Spectrum Health Lakeland has issued a statement regarding a potential security breech by an employee at a dermatology clinic in the Spectrum network.

According to the statement, an employee at Stonegate Dermatology of Lakeland, 3901 Stonegate Park, St. Joseph, accessed patient contact information and used it for purposes unrelated to her work at the medical office.

The statement reads, as follows:

“On Feb. 18, 2022, Spectrum Health Lakeland was made aware, through an anonymous report, of an incident involving a former employee of Stonegate Dermatology of Lakeland who accessed patient contact information (name, address, email, and phone number) for the purposes of contacting patients directly regarding services provided outside of the dermatology practice.

“After a thorough evaluation of the incident, Spectrum Health Lakeland determined there is no evidence that patients’ personal health related information, social security number, or insurance information was accessed, used, or disclosed. The evaluation also provided no evidence that the information accessed was shared with anyone else.

“’We understand that choosing a health care provider is an extremely important, personal decision and we have a responsibility to keep patients’ information safe and secure,” said Loren B. Hamel, MD, president, Spectrum Health Lakeland. ‘We sincerely apologize for this misuse of patients’ contact information and are doing our best to ensure it does not happen again.’

“Spectrum Health Lakeland will be contacting patients by mail if their information was included in this incident. Patients who have questions should call 1.877.319.0266 or email privacy@spectrumhealth.org (reference case number 8649).”