SA Health patients have been affected by a data breach on a third-party platform.

A data breach involving health platform Personify Care has impacted thousands of South Australian public health patients. 

The South Australian government has revealed that the health information of 121 patients and the names and phone numbers of approximately 12,000 others were inadvertently deleted by an “unauthorised third party”.

The data contained in the platform was used for patients on supervised medication protocols.

Health Minister Chris Picton says that there is no evidence suggesting the data was copied or downloaded, and the deleted information has been restored. 

Dr Robyn Lawrence, Chief Executive of the Department of Health and Wellbeing, described the incident as a “disappointing incident” but encouraged patients to continue using Personify Care, as they still need to consult with their practitioners.

Personify Care informed the government that they were one of several organisations affected by the breach and has been directly contacting the impacted patients. 

The government reportedly learned about the breach four days after its occurrence on October 16.

This incident follows another data breach involving a government agency's data held by a third-party, raising concerns about the security and integrity of such systems. 

Despite assurances from the government that the data does not appear to have been taken, cybersecurity experts say it is important to treat data breaches with serious concern, particularly in the healthcare sector, due to the sensitive nature of medical records.