Chillicothe VA Medical Center

Issue: A Social Worker faxed an authorization, signed by the patient, to Adult Protection. Along with the authorization was a letter pertaining to the patient written by a Nurse Practitioner. At the top of the letter, a different patient's name was…

Outcome: 02/27/15: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that there was a policy violation. While there was an unauthorized access/disclosure of data, it has been determined that the incident has a low probability of a risk of compromise. Only the…

Issue: When staff called Veteran A to advise him of an appointment, he said that he received his letter in the mail, however, it appeared to be tampered with. There was a piece of scotch tape over the flap but it…

Outcome: 02/27/15: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that no data breach has occurred. The SPI if exposed at all, would have been exposed to only VA staff and/or mail carrier staff during the performance of their official duties. The…

Issue: Pharmacy accidentally dispensed insulin to the wrong patient. When the patient realized the error, he returned it to the Pharmacy. Insulin was then sent by UPS to correct Veteran.…

Outcome: 02/17/15: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that the Veteran will be sent a HIPAA notification letter due to Protected Health Information (PHI) being disclosed.…

Issue: Veteran A received his lab results in the mail, and along with them were the lab results of Veteran B. Veteran B's lab results were returned to the Privacy Officer (PO) by mail.…

Outcome: 02/05/15: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that Veteran B will be sent a HIPAA notification letter due to Protected Health Information (PHI) being disclosed.…

Issue: A clerk in the Patient Transfer Center faxed 11 pages of a patient's medical record for the purpose of ordering a PET Scan at a non-VA hospital. When she called to confirm receipt, she was advised that report was not…

Outcome: 01/23/15: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that Veteran A will be sent a letter offering credit protection services.…

Issue: A Nursing employee discussed at morning report that she intervened on her son's behalf regarding his medications with his Primary Care Team. There is documentation in the record to support this.…

Outcome: 01/22/15: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that the son will be sent a HIPAA notification letter due to Protected Health Information (PHI) being disclosed.…

Issue: Lab employee attempted to send a FAX to a physician that contained a patient's pathology and lab work. The FAX was mistakenly sent to a training room in the Administration Building. The FAX was found and secured by facility's Safety…

Outcome: 12/31/14: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that Veteran A will be sent a letter offering credit protection services.…

Issue: Patient B's letter and Fee Authorization was mailed with Patient A's letter. Patient A, who received the mailing, is also a VA employee. Patient A returned Patient B's letter and Fee Authorization back to the Privacy Officer (PO) for proper…

Outcome: 12/16/14: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that Patient B will be sent a letter offering credit protection services due to full name and DoB being disclosed.…

Issue: A Veteran received an appointment letter from the VA. Included in the envelope was an appointment letter for another Veteran.…

Outcome: 11/10/14: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that Veteran B will be sent a letter offering credit protection services.…

Issue: A Compensation and Pension (C&P) Clerk mailed a PTSD Disability questionnaire to a Veteran. The envelope also contained questionnaires for 2 other Veterans. When the Veteran received the information, he took it to his Veterans Service Organization (VSO), who in…

Outcome: 11/05/14: The Incident Resolution Service Team has determined that two Veterans will be sent a notification letter.…