NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- We are providing this notice as part of Tribeca Medical Center's commitment to patient privacy. We take patient privacy very seriously, and it is important to us that you are made fully aware of a potential privacy issue.  We regret to inform you that on October 21, 2014, Tribeca Medical Center discovered a potential breach of protected health information. We are notifying individuals so you can take swift personal action, which along with our efforts, may help to reduce or eliminate potential future risk.

The incident involving protected health information was a theft of medical records stored in a custom built, double-locked storage facility in Jersey City, NJ.  On October 21, 2014 we learned that on or about that date, unknown individuals broke into the secured storage facility by cutting door latches and taking boxes containing medical records containing protected health information.

The facility primarily contained records of patients who had not been seen in our office for three consecutive years or thereabouts, between approximately 1982 and 2009, and were considered inactive.  The records of most patients who were seen in the office from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2013 are stored at a different facility.  However, it is possible that a small number of active patients seen by the practice seen since 2010 may be affected by this incident.

Some of the medical records which were stolen contained protected health information including, but not necessarily limited to: patient names, addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth, gender designation, insurance information, billing information, medical diagnoses, treatment records, laboratory and test results, and pharmacy/medication records.

This theft was immediately reported to the Jersey City Police Department. The Police Department responded to the scene, dusted for fingerprints and opened an investigation. Tribeca Medical Center will continue to work with the Police Department to assist them in any way possible with their investigation. To date, the information has not been recovered.  There are no longer any records stored at this facility. 

If you have any questions, or need additional information, you may contact Dr. Nisar Quraishi at Tribeca Medical Center by toll-free telephone at 1-800-619-2738, through our website, www.tribecamedical.com, or via email at [email protected]  

We are not aware of any indication that any unauthorized individual has used the information.  Nevertheless, it is recommended that you immediately take the following steps to protect yourself from potential harm resulting from this event:

• Monitor financial and personal account statements, explanations of benefits, and credit bureau reports closely.   

• Register a fraud alert with, and order credit reports from, the three credit bureaus:
  • Experian: (888) 397-3742       www.experian.com
  • TransUnion: (800) 680-7289   www.transunion.com
  • Equifax: (800) 525-6285         www.equifax.com

• Every year, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus.  For more information, visit www.annualcreditreport.com

• New York residents may obtain more information about protecting yourself from identity theft from the New York Division of Consumer Protection at 1-800-697-1220 or www.dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection/

• New Jersey residents may obtain more information about protecting yourself from identity theft from the New Jersey Office of Consumer Protection at 1-800-242-5846 or at www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/ocp

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern this incident has caused you. Your information privacy is very important to us and we will continue to do everything possible to correct the situation and ensure appropriate measures are being taken to protect your privacy in the future.

Contact:
Dr. Nisar Quraishi
1-800-619-2738

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tribeca-medical-center-issues-notice-regarding-a-potential-privacy-issue-involving-its-patients-300006355.html

SOURCE Tribeca Medical Center