NOTICE OF SECURITY INCIDENT AT RIVERBEND COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH

Riverbend Community Mental Health has become aware of an incident that may have impacted the privacy of certain clients’ health information. Riverbend Community Mental Health, the manager of The Doorway at Concord, has learned that a document containing client information was inadvertently disclosed to another party. Riverbend Community Mental Health believes that the confidentiality of client information is of utmost importance and sincerely apologizes for any concern this incident may cause.

The document was shared with a journalist seeking to write a story about the positive impact of The Doorway programs, who had requested information about referrals. The information to be provided was “de-identified” and not confidential. When that information was provided, an additional worksheet was inadvertently included. The worksheet contained the names, dates of birth and medical record numbers of some Doorway clients, along with the names of the facilities to which those clients were referred.

Upon learning of this inadvertent disclosure, Riverbend Community Mental Health immediately began an investigation. Riverbend Mental Community Health determined that although the referral information was temporarily accessible to the journalist and his or her colleagues, only three individuals had opened it. Riverbend acted quickly to shut down access to the document and confirmed that any copies of the document were destroyed. Riverbend Community Mental Health has seen no indication that client information was accessed by anyone other than the individuals described above and feels confident that this information will not be re-disclosed.

Riverbend Community Mental Health wants to assure clients that the privacy and security of client information is its highest priority. Riverbend Community Mental Health has taken steps to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future, including enhancing its procedures for responding to media inquiries and providing additional privacy training to all employees.
Clients may call a toll-free number at 1-833-449-0002 to learn more about the incident. This is a dedicated line that will allow clients to speak directly with a Riverbend Community Mental Health representative familiar with the incident.

As the manager of The Doorway at Concord, Riverbend Community Mental Health deeply regrets this incident and extends its most sincere apologies.