RCCA MSO LLC (“RCCA MSO”), the management services entity for Regional Cancer Care Associates LLC (“RCCA”) and RCCA MD LLC (“RCCA MD” and, together with RCCA MSO and RCCA, the “RCCA Group”) recently discovered an incident that may affect the security of personal information of certain current and former patients. We are taking this incident very seriously and the privacy and security of our information is, at all times, our top priority.
What Happened? On May 24, 2019, RCCA MSO became aware of suspicious activity regarding an employee email account. We immediately began an investigation to confirm the security of our network and to determine the nature and scope of this event. With the assistance of third-party forensic investigators, on June 21, 2019, we learned that the RCCA Group was the victim of unauthorized access to several employee email accounts. The investigation confirmed that the RCCA Group employee mailboxes were subject to unauthorized access between April 17, 2019 and June 4, 2019. On July 16, 2019, we confirmed that certain personal and protected health information were contained in the employee email accounts subject to unauthorized access.
What Information Was Involved? Since this incident was discovered, the RCCA Group has received no evidence indicating that any personal information, including health information, found in the applicable email accounts has been misused by an unauthorized party. However, we are providing notice to our patients out of an abundance of caution. Our investigation determined the following types of information were stored within the email accounts subject to unauthorized access or acquisition: name and date of birth, address, health information, treatment/diagnosis information, physician information, prescription information, and health insurance information. Our investigation further determined that, for a very small subset of individuals, the following types of information were also included in the impacted email accounts: driver’s license number, Social Security number, financial account number and/or payment card information.
What We Are Doing. We are keenly aware of how important personal information is to our patients and are strongly committed to our responsibility to protect all data entrusted to us. We are continuously taking steps to enhance data security protections. As part of our incident response, we changed the log-in credentials for the affected employee email accounts to prevent further unauthorized access. Since then, we have continued ongoing efforts to augment security controls and to implement additional controls, including the use of multi-factor authentications to further prevent employee email accounts from unauthorized access.
As an added precaution, we are offering affected individuals access to complimentary credit/identity monitoring and identity restoration services. Instructions for enrolling in the credit monitoring services are in the letter mailed to affected individuals.
What can you do to protect your information?
Monitor Your Accounts.
Credit Report. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, and to monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity. Under U.S. law, you are entitled to one (1) free credit report annually from each of the three (3) major credit reporting bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also contact the three (3) major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.
You have the right to place a “security freeze” on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without your express authorization. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to control who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you may make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report. Should you wish to place a security freeze, please contact the major consumer reporting agencies listed below:
Equifax
PO Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788
In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:
As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on your credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven (7) years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the agencies listed below:
Equifax
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348
TransUnion
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself, by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General.
The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.identitytheft.gov, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.
If you have questions about this incident, you may call the dedicated assistance line we’ve established specifically for this incident. Please call (855) 414-6050, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET (excluding U.S. holidays).
For more information or to schedule an appointment,
call 844-346-7222. You can also schedule an appointment by calling the RCCA location nearest you.
With care centers in New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and the Washington, D.C., area, thousands of patients each year have come to rely on the expertise, dedication and compassion of Regional Cancer Care Associates.
More than 80 medical oncologists and hematologists affiliated with Regional Cancer Care Associates (RCCA) – one of the nation’s largest networks of oncology specialists — are on the frontlines of the fight against cancer in New Jersey, providing care to well over 100,000 people each year in 19 community-based practices across the Garden State.
The American Cancer Society will host its 43rd annual Diamond Ball Gala on November 24, 2024, at the Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park, NJ.
Regional Cancer Care Associates is one of fewer than 200 medical practices in the country selected to participate in the Oncology Care Model (OCM); a recent Medicare initiative aimed at improving care coordination and access to and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
