Data Security Incident

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO: August 1, 2022 – First Choice Community Healthcare, Inc., (“First Choice”), is a community healthcare provider headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which experienced a data security incident that may have involved personal and protected health information belonging to certain individuals who sought medical treatment or services at First Choice. First Choice has sent notification of this incident to potentially impacted individuals and provided resources to assist them.

On March 27, 2022, First Choice became aware of a possible data security incident event involving its technological environment. Following discovery, we engaged an independent cybersecurity firm to investigate the scope of potential access to the First Choice environment, and whether sensitive information may have been affected. The investigation subsequently revealed that certain personal and protected health information may have been accessed or acquired without authorization. We then initiated a comprehensive review of the potentially impacted data to determine the types of personal and protected health information involved and identify the potentially impacted individuals. Following completion of the review of data, we then worked diligently to gather current contact information needed to notify all potentially affected individuals. This process was completed on June 3, 2022.

First Choice is not aware of any evidence of the misuse of any information potentially involved in this incident. However, on August 1, 2022, First Choice provided notice of this incident to the potentially impacted individuals. In so doing, First Choice provided information about the incident and about steps that potentially impacted individuals can take to protect their information. First Choice takes the security and privacy of information in its possession very seriously and is taking steps to prevent a similar event from occurring in the future.

The following personal and protected health information may have been involved in the incident: names, Social Security numbers, First Choice patient ID number, diagnosis and clinical treatment information, medications, dates of service, health insurance information, medical record number, patient account number, date of birth, and provider information.

First Choice has established a toll-free call center to answer questions about the incident and to address related concerns. Call center representatives are available Monday through Friday from 7:00 am – 7:00 pm Mountain Time and can be reached at 1 (833) 423-1900.

The privacy and protection of personal and protected health information is a top priority for First Choice, which deeply regrets any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause.

While First Choice has no evidence of the misuse of any potentially affected individual’s information as a result of this incident, it is providing the following information to help those wanting to know more about steps they can take to protect themselves and their personal information:

What steps can I take to protect my personal information?

Review Your Account Statements and Notify Law Enforcement of Suspicious Activity:As a precautionary measure, we recommend that you remain vigilant by reviewing your account statements and credit reports closely. If you detect any suspicious activity on an account, you should promptly notify the financial institution or company with which the account is maintained. You also should promptly report any fraudulent activity or any suspected incidence of identity theft to proper law enforcement authorities, your state attorney general, and/or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You should also contact your local law enforcement authorities and file a police report. Obtain a copy of the police report in case you are asked to provide copies to creditors to correct your records. Contact information for the Federal Trade Commission is as follows:

• Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20580,
  1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338), www.consumer.ftc.gov, www.ftc.gov/idtheft.

Copy of Credit Report: You may obtain a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies once every 12 months by visiting http://www.annualcreditreport.com/, calling toll-free 877-322-8228, or by completing an Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348. You can print this form at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf. You also can contact one of the following three national credit reporting agencies:

• Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374, 1-800-525-6285, www.equifax.com.
• Experian, P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013, 1-888-397-3742, www.experian.com.
• TransUnion, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19016, 1-800-916-8800, www.transunion.com.

Additional Free Resources: You can obtain information from the consumer reporting agencies, the FTC, or from your respective state attorney general about fraud alerts, security freezes, and steps you can take toward preventing identity theft. You may report suspected identity theft to local law enforcement, including to the FTC or to the attorney general in your state.

Additional information for residents of the following states: