Vibrant Body Wellness Data Breach (2015)

A California-based chiropractic office has notified 600 patients of a potential healthcare data breach after the practice was burgled in early March, reported EastBayTimes.com. In an official statement, Vibrant Body Wellness explained that a laptop and backup hard drive were stolen after a break-in occurred sometime between March 5 and March 8. The chiropractic practice confirmed that the laptop was password-protected and patient information on the hard drive was encrypted. Despite the security measures, the practice stated that patient information may still be at risk, including names, addresses, dates of birth, contact information, diagnoses, and billing information. Upon discovery of the healthcare data security incident, Vibrant Body Wellness reported the robbery to local law enforcement officials. Affected individuals have been notified of the possible healthcare data breach and the practice has encouraged affected patients to place a fraud alert on their credit accounts, explained the statement. The practice confirmed that there has been no reported events of health information being improperly accessed or used. "We understand that this may pose an inconvenience to you. We sincerely apologize and regret that this situation has occurred," wrote the owner of the practice, Teresa Lau, DC, in a letter to affected patients. "Vibrant Body Wellness is committed to providing quality care, including protecting your personal information, and we want to assure you that we have policies and procedures to protect your privacy."