SW Family Medicine Data Breach
NOTICE: If you received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH letter from South West Family Medicine Associates, contact the Arnold Law Firm at (916) 777-7777 to discuss your legal options, or submit a confidential Case Evaluation form here.
On November 7, 2024, South West Family Medicine Associates, PA (“SFMA”) reported a significant cybersecurity incident to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. On August 7, 2024, an unauthorized party accessed individuals’ private and sensitive personal information stored in SFMA’s system (the “Data Breach”). The Data Breach has impacted approximately 36,959 individuals.
In November 2024, SFMA began sending data breach notification letters to those affected by the Data Breach. Each notification letter includes complimentary access to credit monitoring and identity restoration services. If you received a data breach notification letter from SFMA, it indicates that you were affected by the Data Breach.
SFMA is a healthcare provider located in Dallas, Texas. They offer comprehensive healthcare services designed to treat physical, emotional, and mental health holistically. SFMA serves approximately 20,000 patients annually, providing a wide range of services, including family medicine, internal medicine, endocrinology, bioidentical hormone replacement, acupuncture, herbal medicine, transgender care, HIV diagnosis and treatment, behavioral health services, life coaching, physical therapy, weight loss programs, and nutrition counseling.
WHAT INFORMATION IS INVOLVED IN THE SW FAMILY MEDICINE DATA BREACH?
The type of compromised information varied among individuals and potentially included:
- Names and addresses
- Social Security Numbers
- Driver’s license numbers
- Dates of birth
- Medical history and medication information
- Personal identification numbers
- Passport numbers
- Mother’s maiden names
- Identity protection personal identification numbers
- Health insurance information.
This information is called your Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”). It tells others about you and is considered part of your identity. Businesses are required to secure this information or risk facing statutory penalties, among other legal penalties. Stolen PII can be used by identity thieves to engage in fraudulent activity using your identity.
Personal medical information (a specific type of PII) is referred to as Protected Health Information (“PHI”). It is protected under both state and federal law. Healthcare providers and other businesses who handle PHI are required to protect that information. Like stolen PII, stolen PHI can be used by identity thieves to engage in fraudulent activity using your identity. Quite often, PII and PHI are used in conjunction by hackers.
The best way to protect yourself after a data breach is to sign up for credit and identity protection services as soon as possible.
California offers extra protections and legal rights to its residents through the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”).
NOTICE: If you received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH letter from South West Family Medicine Associates, contact the Arnold Law Firm at (916) 777-7777 to discuss your legal options, or submit a confidential Case Evaluation form here.