Pediatric Dental Office Experiences a Data Breach

By Olivia Wann, JD

Acadia Health doing business as Just Kids Dental filed a notice of a data breach with the Attorney General of Maine on September 1, 2023. Evidently an unauthorized party accessed patient information including:

• Patient names
• Social security numbers
• Addresses
• Email addresses
• Telephone numbers
• Birth dates
• Driver’s license numbers
• Health insurance policy information
• Dental treatment
  • Radiographs
  • Medical record numbers
  • Account numbers, and
  • Health conditions

The dental practice sent out data breach notification letters affected by the security incident. There were over 129,000 patients and employees affected.

How did this happen? The pediatric office was targeted in a cyberattack. Hackers encrypted the computer networks including any data stored on the system including patient and employee files.

It’s very unfortunate to report that we noted one law firm “inviting” victims of the breach to participate in a class action lawsuit against Acadia Health if they have experienced any fraud or identify theft since August 1, 2023.

None of us are immune from a cyberattack. We can only mitigate risk through compliance with recognized security practices (RSPs), compliance with HIPAA and working with a competent IT group. If you need assistance with your HIPAA Security Risk Assessment, contact us today (931) 232-7738.