Bay Area Heart Center, located in St. Petersburg, Florida has experienced a data breach after its business associate Bowden Barlow Law, P.A. ("Bowden Barlow Law") was impacted by a cybersecurity attack.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Jan. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Bay Area Heart Center experienced a data breach after its business associate Bowden Barlow Law, P.A. ("Bowden Barlow Law") experienced a cybersecurity attack. During this attack, various personal information was compromised concerning Bay Area Heart Center's patients. Bowden Barlow Law is contracted with Bay Area Heart Center as a collection agency.
This event occurred when one of Bowden Barlow Law's employees received a phishing email, that after opening, resulted in an unknown third-party gaining access to one of the firm's two servers on-site sometime between November 17, 2023, and December 1, 2023. Bay Area Heart Center received the details of this data breach on December 27, 2023, and has been working diligently to determine the scope of information disclosed.
Following the cybersecurity attack, Bowden Barlow Law notified authorities and launched a forensic investigation which determined the potential patient information that was compromised included names, addresses, full and partial Social Security Numbers, dates of service, limited claims data and insurance policy numbers. There is no evidence that any of this information was downloaded and is currently accessible. Bowden Barlow Law has since taken steps with a cybersecurity firm to secure systems and restore operations.
Bay Area Heart Center takes this matter extremely seriously and is equally frustrated that its patient files were compromised by a third-party vendor. Patient privacy and safety is of the utmost importance to Bay Area Heart Center. Given the potential impact this breach could have on patients, and in furtherance of its commitment to safety and security, the medical practice is currently reevaluating its partnership with Bowden Barlow Law.
Bay Area Heart Center is complying with all HIPAA guidelines and will be offering all patients impacted one year of complimentary credit monitoring. The Center encourages all patients who believe they may have been impacted to monitor their accounts and credit reports.
Bay Area Heart Center regrets any inconvenience experienced by our valued patients. As a practice dedicated to patient care, the Bay Area Heart Center has robust systems and processes in place to safeguard all current, present, and future patient information.
If you have any questions or would like more information, including on how to sign up for the complimentary credit monitoring service, you may contact Bay Area Heart Center directly via email at [email protected]. Please also feel free to reach out to Bay Area Heart Center via telephone at 833-705-6671, which is a line dedicated to communications related to this security incident.
About The Bay Area Heart Center
Since 1982, the Bay Area Heart Center has provided the highest level and quality of cardiac care available in St. Petersburg, Florida, and surrounding communities. Our goal is to preserve good health, and we do this by treating each patient as an individual and continually improving the technical delivery of care in this increasingly complex field. Our physicians are thoroughly trained in all aspects of modern cardiology, including diagnostic and therapeutic areas such as cardiac catheterization, interventional cardiology, peripheral vascular, and pacemaker therapy.
Media Contact
Kara Schmiemann, Red Banyan, 973-346-2570, [email protected], https://redbanyan.com
SOURCE Bay Area Heart Center
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