Altoona - James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center

Issue: Police found PHI and PII in a Building 7 Hallway during routine rounds.

Outcome: 06/16/14: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that four Veterans will be sent letters offering credit protection services.…

Issue: Release of Information received a copy of a form (Physician Verification Form, Domestic Relations Sections, In the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, PA) from Johnstown CBOC that was completed by a Provider. The form was not signed and…

Outcome: 05/06/14: The Incident Resolution Team has determined that the Veteran will be sent a HIPAA notification letter due to Protected Health Information (PHI) being disclosed.…

Issue: Veteran A reported he found Veteran B's medical report on a CD from Release of Information (ROI) that contained his military records. The information was scanned from his VA medical record. The information at risk included Veteran B's name, date…

Outcome: 03/03/14: Due to medical information and date of birth being exposed, the Incident Resolution Team has determined that Veteran B will be sent a letter offering credit protection services.…

Issue: Nurse on CLC reported overhearing a housekeeper on the phone in a resident common area (with several residents present) making a phone call to an unknown person to give them a "heads up" that a certain resident died. The housekeeper…

Outcome: 02/27/14: The Incident Resolution Team has determined that the Veteran's Next of Kin will be sent a notification letter.…

Issue: Veteran A received Veteran B's PHI in mail.

Outcome: 02/16/14: Veteran A received a request for outpatient services. On the document was Veteran B's full name, full SSN and address along with the clinic name and reason for visit. Veteran B will be sent a letter offering credit protection…

Issue: During an Information Security Officer (ISO) Audit, it was discovered that a VA employee accessed the Medical Record (CPRS) of her husband. The reason for the access is unknown at the present time. After further review it was found that…

Outcome: 01/30/14: A notification letter will be sent to the spouse.…

Issue: Veteran A received Veteran B's discharge instructions. Veteran B's name, full SSN, date of birth and medication information was compromised.…

Outcome: 01/21/14: Veteran A called the Privacy Officer (PO) to report that he had received Veteran B's discharge instructions instead of his own when he was discharged from the ED on Friday. He was already home by the time he discovered…

Issue: Veteran A called Anticoagulation Clinic because Veteran A had not received his prescription medication in the mail yet. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist researched and discovered that the prescription package was mailed out on 09/10/2013 but was misaddressed to the wrong veteran.…

Outcome: 11/27/13: Veteran A will be sent a HIPAA notification letter.…

Issue: Veteran A received Veteran Bs Means Test Anniversary Letter from the Health Administration Services (HAS) Health Benefits Advisor, Central Registration Team sometime after 10/16/13. The full Social Security Number of the Veteran was included in the letter. Veteran A hand…

Outcome: 11/06/13: Veteran B will receive a letter offering credit protection services.…

Issue: Veteran B received Veteran A's travel vouchers.

Outcome: 09/12/13: Veteran A will be sent a letter offering credit protection services due to the disclosure of full name and SSN.…