|
NOTICE OF PRIVACY
BREACH-WEB ANNOUNCEMENT - 5/23/2012
At Physician's Automated Laboratory (PAL), we
believe protecting our patients' privacy is part of
the service we provide. This includes
notifying patients in the event of a privacy or data
security breach. Unfortunately, a recent incident
may have exposed patient personal and confidential
infromantion.
On March 26, 2012, we discovered that our Patient
Service Center located at 2012 17th
Street, Bakersfield California 93301 had been broken
into and that, among other things, lab requisition
forms which were kept in a locked cabinet were
missing from the center. We were able to determine
that the missing forms are related to certain
laboratory services provided between February 1,
2012 and March 23, 2012. So, if you received
services at this location during that timeframe, the
confidential information taken may have contained
your name, address, phone number, date of birth,
insurance information, ordering practitioner’s name
and laboratory tests ordered.
The Bakersfield Police Department was notified of
the break-in for investigation and possible
prosecution of the person(s) responsible.
Since then, PAL has taken additional steps to
ensure this type of information is more secure, as
these documents are no longer kept at PAL patient
service centers.
We have no evidence, at this time, the theft was for
the purposes of identity theft.
However, we are making you aware of the
incident in case you want to take steps to protect
against possible identity theft.
We recommend that you place a fraud alert on
your credit files. Even if you do not find any signs
of fraud, it is recommended that you check your
credit reports every three months for the next year.
You may activate a fraud alert by contacting
any one of the three major credit bureaus below.
You only need to call one of the credit
bureaus, but the fraud alert will be placed in all
three files.
Equifax
Experian
1-800-685-1111
1-888-397-3742
http://www.equifax.com
http://www.experian.com
Trans
Union
1-800-680-7289
1-800-916-8800
(Spanish)
http://www.transunion.com
We sincerely regret that this incident occurred and
apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused
you.
Please be assured, at PAL we take the
confidentiality of our patients’ personal
information very seriously.
If you have any question or need additional
information please contact us by any of these means:
Call:
661.325.0744 or Toll Free 1.800.675.2271
Email:
lfletcher@pallab.org
Mail:
Lisa Fletcher, Head of Phlebotomy
Physician’s
Automated Laboratory
2801
H Street
Bakersfield,
CA
93301-1913
When you receive your credit reports, examine them
carefully.
Look for accounts that you did not open.
Look for inquiries from creditors that you
did not initiate.
And look for personal information, such as
home address and Social Security number to make sure
they are accurate. If you see anything that you do
not understand, call the credit bureau at the
telephone number on the report. |
