Dear Valued Patient,
The Baton Rouge Clinic is sending you this letter in keeping with its commitment to protect the privacy and security of our patients’ confidential information. We are sending this notice to all patients, including those patients of physicians who joined the Clinic from a prior practice. We take protection of all patients’ information seriously, and it is important to us that you are made aware of any occurrence that may have affected your private information.
What Happened – On July 8, 2020, the Clinic learned of a cyberattack against its electronic database, including email and some electronic patient-related records. The Clinic responded quickly, retaining technology experts to investigate and eliminate the attack, and to ensure it did not recur. The attack resulted in the encryption of electronic files, making the records temporarily inaccessible and out of the Clinic’s control. The attack was resolved and access to the electronic files returned. The attacker confirmed that none of the files were used or disclosed to anyone and any files taken were destroyed.
Type Of Information Involved – We have no evidence, based on the investigation conducted thus far, to believe that any of your electronic medical or billing records were accessed or viewed. Nevertheless, because some patient medical information was encrypted, we recommend that you monitor your credit history, medical claims history, and any other sources of information that may alert you to any suspicious activity.
Steps Taken By The Clinic – The Clinic is committed to securing its patients’ information. The Clinic has taken numerous measures to install additional electronic safeguards and provide additional employee education to attempt to prevent an attack in the future. We have also retained cybersecurity experts to assist us with ongoing monitoring of our technology infrastructure. A report has also been made to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
What You Can Do – Checking your credit reports periodically can help you spot and address problems quickly. If you find suspicious activity from any source, we recommend that you report it to your financial institutions, your local police or sheriff’s office, and to the Louisiana Attorney General’s office. You can contact one of the three U.S. credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to obtain a free credit report and to place a fraud alert on your credit file. A fraud alert lets creditors know to contact you before opening any new accounts or changing current accounts. These agencies can be contacted by logging on to or by calling 1-877-322-8228. These agencies can also provide information about placing a security freeze on your credit files. By placing a freeze, someone who fraudulently obtains your personal information will not be able to use that information to open new accounts or borrow money in your name. You may also contact the agencies individually using the following information:
TransUnion LLC – P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, (800) 680-7289
Equifax – P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348-5069: (800) 525-6285; My.equifax.com
Experian – P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013; (888) 397-3742; experian.com
For More Information – Should you have any questions or need additional information, please contact the Clinic at 1 (833) 470-1235 or by mail to The Baton Rouge Clinic, 7373 Perkins Road, LA 70808 Attn: HIPAA Privacy Officer.
We are sorry this incident occurred. Unfortunately, cyberattacks are increasing at an alarming rate and no organization is completely immune from such nefarious activity despite all of the security initiatives taken to prevent such attacks. Please know that security of your information remains a top priority of the Clinic. We have taken and will continue to take steps to maximize our security, minimize the impact of this attack, and prevent a reoccurrence in the future.
Sincerely,
Edgar H. Silvey, Chief Executive Officer