August 10, 2022

MultiCare Health System addresses third-party data breach incident

TACOMA, WA – MultiCare announced today that it is part of a security event that originated with Avamere Health Services LLC, a third-party entity. Avamere provides contracted services to Physicians of Southwest Washington (PSW), a joint venture and business associate of MultiCare.

In early 2022, Avamere discovered unauthorized access to its network’s systems. Upon discovery, Avamere stopped this access, contacted law enforcement, and began an investigation. They discovered that files containing identifiable protected health information were potentially removed from their systems.

Potentially 18,615 beneficiaries of MultiCare’s Bundled Payment for Care Improvement Advanced program may have been involved. The information that may have been compromised included data such as: full name, diagnosis or conditions, dates of service and provider names.

On May 18, 2022, Avamere concluded their investigation and began determining the involved covered entities. Avamere notified PSW, which promptly notified MultiCare. Avamere is directly notifying impacted beneficiaries by mail.

Avamere has agreed to provide credit monitoring for one year for any affected MultiCare program beneficiaries who request this service. Individuals who have questions or need additional information regarding this incident may visit Avamere online or call the dedicated toll-free response line Avamere has established:  833-909-4422. The response line is available Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST.

MultiCare holds protecting the security and confidentiality of private information as a top priority and deeply regrets that this third-party platform breach has occurred.