On July 14, 2023, Fairfax Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (“FOMS”) filed a notice of data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. While few details about the recent FOMS data breach are available, based on the company’s filing, it appears the incident compromised patients’ protected health information. Upon completing its investigation, FOMS began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you received a data breach notification from Fairfax Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. As we’ve discussed in previous posts, healthcare providers have become one of hackers’ preferred targets due to the wealth of sensitive information they maintain about their patients. And while all healthcare providers have a legal duty to protect the confidential information in their possession, not all healthcare providers take the necessary steps to secure their systems from unauthorized access. 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 Fairfax Oral Surgery data breach.

What Caused the Fairfax Oral Surgery Breach?

The Fairfax Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, FOMS’ filing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, FOMS experienced a “Hacking/IT Incident'' involving the company’s network server. As a result, sensitive information belonging to 208,194 patients was subject to unauthorized access.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Fairfax Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted.

On July 14, 2023, Fairfax Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery submitted notice of the breach to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. Typically, companies experiencing a breach will send out data breach letters to affected parties around this time. These letters will provide a detailed explanation of what information was leaked and how the breach occurred.

More Information About Fairfax Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Founded in 1980, Fairfax Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery is a dental care practice located in Burke, Virginia. FOMS provides a range of surgical services to patients, including wisdom tooth removal, dental implants, bone grafting, and more. Fairfax Oral Surgery also performs facial cosmetic surgery. The company serves patients in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia through six locations in Virginia, including in Alexandria, Burke, Centreville, Fairfax, Reston and Woodbridge. Fairfax Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery employs more than 87 people and generates approximately $16 million in annual revenue.