NOTICE OF DATA SECURITY INCIDENT
New Jersey Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (the “Practice”) believes that the privacy and security of health information is important and is committed to protecting it. The Practice recently experienced an incident that involved certain health information. This notice explains the incident, the measures we have taken in response, and the steps individuals can take to protect their information.
On May 14, 2024, the Practice became aware that some of its computer systems were being affected by a data security incident that it believes began on or around April 19, 2024. After becoming aware of the incident, the Practice immediately initiated its incident response and recovery procedures and worked quickly to assess the security of its systems. The Practice determined that the incident resulted in the unauthorized access and acquisition of certain files on the Practice’s computer systems. As a result, the Practice is notifying patients to make them aware of the incident and offer resources to help ensure their information remains protected. The Practice also notified the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of this incident as well as law enforcement. In addition, the Practice has taken steps, including implementation of additional safeguards, to try and prevent similar incidents in the future.
The information affected by the incident may have included patients’ full name, home address, date of birth, and other demographic and contact information, Social Security number, driver’s license and state ID numbers, financial and account information, insurance information, and diagnosis and treatment information.
Although the Practice has no evidence that any information has been subject to identity theft or fraud, individuals should remain alert by regularly reviewing account statements and monitoring free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors, and immediately report to their banks and other financial institutions any suspicious activity involving their accounts. The Practice has offered credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to potentially affected patients at no charge. Individuals can also obtain a free copy of their credit report online at www.annualcreditreport.com, by calling toll-free (877) 322-8228, or by mailing an Annual Credit Report Request Form (available at www.annualcreditreport.com) to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA, 30348-5281.
The Practice has set up a toll-free number to answer patients’ questions about the incident. Practice patients may call 855-799-8722, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time for more information.