Cardiovascular Associates of Arizona has published a notice in the Arizona Silver Bullet.
Dear Editor:
We would like to inform our patients that somewhere over the weekend of 10/07-10/09 our office in Globe was broken into. Four laptops were stolen; each laptop was guarded with a PIN code and password to get on the computer. There is no patient information Saved on any laptop that was stolen. The EHR system (Electronic Health Record), has to be accessed with a login and password which are not saved on the laptops. With out the login information no patient information can be obtained. Our staff has changed the passwords for the EHR system. We are making you aware so you can monitor your accounts – here’s what you should do as a precaution. We recommend that you place a fraud alert on your credit file. 1) A fraud alert tells creditors to contact you before they open any new accounts or change your existing accounts. 2) Call anyone of the three major credit bureaus. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others Are notified to place fraud alerts. The initial fraud alert stays on your credit report for one year.
CreditKarma.com (you can check as many times as day as you’d like)
Equifax: Equifax.com or 1.800.685.1111 Experian: eExperian.com or 1.888.397.3742 TransUnion: Transunion.com or 1.888.909.8872
Please contact Elizabeth Strmiska if you have any questions PH 480.476.0475
Email: [redacted by DataBreaches.net]
Sincerely, Dr. Abdul Memon and Staff
It’s not clear why they are telling patients to monitor accounts. Was patient financial data on those stolen laptops? If so, that is still PHI and this incident would need to be reported to HHS, I think. DataBreaches.net reached out to the medical practice but did not receive a reply by publication time. This post may be updated if a reply is received.