Wheat Ridge, Colo-based Jefferson Center began notifying patients Jan. 30 that their information may have been accessed when someone broke into the mental health and substance abuse provider.
On Nov. 29, 2019, Jefferson Center's Independence Corner experienced a break-in. Jefferson Center said that there is no evidence paper medical records were taken. However, it is unclear the extent to which patients' information was exposed.
Employees discovered that the office was broken into on Dec. 2. Jefferson Center immediately contacted local law enforcement, who are still investigating the incident. Jefferson Center is encouraging patients to review their financial accounts for an unusual activity.
According to the HHS Office for Civil Rights' data breach portal, 1,319 patients from Jefferson Center may have been affected.
"We take patient privacy very seriously, and sincerely regret that this situation has occurred. Jefferson Center is committed to protecting your personal information, and we want to assure you that we have safeguards in place to protect your privacy and personal information. As a result of this incident, we are taking additional steps to secure our office designed to prevent an occurrence like this from happening in the future," said Jefferson Center Compliance Officer Lenya Robinson in a letter to patients.