Attention: Patients of Pratap Kurra, M.D. from 12/1/11 to 4/30/16

LOS BANOS, Calif., Sept. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 9, 2016, Pratap Kurra, M.D. was informed that papers related to his practice were found in a trash container in Los Banos, CA.  Dr. Kurra immediately began an investigation into the matter and determined that on August 8, 2016, the day before, billing tickets used by his practice were accidentally thrown away during his move. Fortunately, all known records were retrieved within 24 hours, and upon further investigation, it was determined to have been a singular incident. 

Dr. Kurra is notifying you of this incident because your ticket was among those potentially exposed.  Specifically, the ticket contained your: name; procedure type; surgeon; Dr. Kurra's name as your anesthesiologist; hospital, date, and time of procedure; type of anesthesia used; and difficulty of case.  Pertinently, no social security numbers, dates of birth, financial information, medical insurance information, patient identification numbers, nor contact information was included.  Further, as mentioned, all tickets are believed to have been fully recovered within 24 hours.

In addition to the steps outlined above, Dr. Kurra was in immediate contact with hospital administrative staff, he discussed this matter with his staff to ensure such an event does not happen again, and he notified the appropriate state and federal agencies about this incident including the California Attorney General and Health and Human Services Department.  Dr. Kurra takes the protection of information seriously and understands how important trust is in a physician-patient relationship.

Although no social security numbers, date of births, financial information, medical insurance information, patient identification numbers, nor contact information was included, you may still be inclined to contact the three credit bureaus and place a fraud alert on your accounts.  If so, their contact information is: Equifax (1-888-766-0008; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374), Experian (1-888-397-3742; P.O. Box 4500,Allen, TX 75013), and TransUnion (800-680-7289; P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022-2000).  You are also entitled to a free credit report every year from these agencies at www.annualcreditreport.com.

Protecting your information is incredibly important to Dr. Kurra, as is addressing this incident with the information and assistance you may need.  If you have any questions or concerns, please call toll free number 844-749-5101, or write Dr. Kurra at P.O. Box 2295, Los Banos, CA 93635.

SOURCE Dr. Kurra