Patient data breach reported by clinic looted after Durham gas explosion

Main Street Clinical Associates put a notice on its website of the potential data breach, noting that it has no evidence that personal or protected health information "was viewed without authorization."

The April 10 explosion rocked the area west of downtown Durham, killing two and injuring about two dozen others.

Main Street Clinical was in the building next to the site of the explosion, and employees had to immediately leave the office "without the opportunity to properly store and secure" patient information.

"At the time of the evacuation, certain patient files in use were left open, and the file room containing patient records was unlocked," according to the clinic's statement.

During the months that followed, crews checked the structural integrity of buildings in the area and cleaned up the hazardous rubble of the building that exploded. Main Street Clinical noted in its statement that employees couldn't get back into their office until Sept. 9 and that the clinic now operates in a temporary office at 3326 Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard while searching for a permanent location.

"Upon re-entry to their office on September 9, 2019, Main Street discovered that looters had unlawfully entered the office and stolen two laptop computers, a clinician’s cell phone and a printer that stored patient information," according to the statement. "The computers and the cell phone were password-protected, and the client files stored on them were also password-protected."

The records included patient names, driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, health insurance information and diagnosis and treatment information, officials said, adding that they believe the looting occurred sometime after mid-July.

Officials said they immediately notified police and changed the passwords on all of the devices and have been remotely monitoring the devices to see if any unauthorized access has occurred.

Main Street Clinical has established a dedicated assistance line at 866-775-4209 for anyone seeking additional information. The line is open weekdays 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Clinic officials also encouraged patients to check their credit reports and possibly put freezes on them to protect against identity theft.