On November 17, 2023, Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City (“PAKC”) filed a notice of data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights after discovering that an unauthorized party was able to access information that had been entrusted to the company. In this notice, PAKC explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information. Upon completing its investigation, PAKC began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you receive a data breach notification from Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City Data Breach?

The Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. For now, PAKC’s filing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights provides some information on what led up to the breach, although it’s quite limited.

According to this source, the PAKC data breach involved a “Hacking/IT Incident'' of a network server. This means that the incident was not an inadvertent disclosure but that an unauthorized party specifically sought out information that was provided to PAKC’s possession.

However, we can’t confirm that the breach involved PAKC’s computer network because there is a possibility that this is a third-party breach involving one of PAKC’s vendors. In today’s business climate, it is common for companies to outsource certain processes to other companies (i.e., vendors), which may require them to provide the vendor with confidential data.

Regardless of the cause, after learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted.

The Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City listing on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights data breach portal does not provide information on what types of data were compromised. However, only those breaches that affect the protected health information (“PHI”) of more than 500 people need to be reported to the HHS-OCR. Thus, at this point, it’s a fair assumption that the PAKC breach resulted in patients’ PHI being compromised.

On November 17, 2023, Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.

More Information About Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City

Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City is a mental health practice located in Leawood, Kansas. PAKC offers patients both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care for a range of conditions and disorders, including ADD/ADHD, depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance abuse disorder, personality disorders, autism, and anxiety disorders. PAKS operates two locations in Leawood and Lee’s Summit, Missouri (under the name PsychPros). Psychiatry Associates of Kansas City employs more than 28 people and generates approximately $9.7 million in annual revenue.