COOK COUNTY, Ill. — Patient data with the Cook County Health was exposed as part of a leak, though the county’s servers and systems were unaffected.

A company that previously provided medical transcription services for Cook County notified CCH that their system was illegally accessed in April of this year. As a result, records for 1.2 million patients were impacted.

Personal patient information that could have been accessed included names, dates of birth, addresses, medical record numbers, encounter numbers, medical information, and dates/times of service.

Approximately 2,600 of those patient records may also have included Social Security Numbers.

CCH said letters will be sent to impacted individuals with more information. Patients should expect the letters to arrive in the mail next week. Those affected are also asked to monitor their credit reports and medical bills for any suspicious activity.

“CCH is committed to upholding our patients’ privacy. We apologize for this incident and will continue to work with our business associates to ensure that data is appropriately protected,” a Cook County Health spokesperson said.

Patients who may have been affected are asked to call (888) 867-3881.