South Central VA Health Care Network (VISN 16)

Issue: Patient Representative was contacted by a Veteran with the complaint that her boyfriend had accessed her medical records without a need to know. She shared information regarding a medication change that he would have only known if in her medical…

Outcome: Appropriate actions taken with employee - he did acknowledge he had accessed record without a need to perform his job. Initially the Veteran's record was not marked as sensitive - it is now.…

Issue: Veteran A received a copy of his medical records which had his name and SSN and DOB at the top of the page. but all of the results of the test were Veteran Bs results with his name,SSN and DOB.…

Outcome: This was a glitch in CPRS software where it attached a portion of one Veterans medical records to another Veterans chart. This is being investigated. This problem is being investigated by IT and is no longer a privacy issue. letter…

Issue: Veteran A pickup his medication from the distribution box at the pharmacy. Veteran B who picked up her medications just prior left part of it in the box and Veteran A left with it. Veteran A was instructed to return…

Outcome: Education of pharmacy Tech's.

Issue: A Veteran's wife called to complain that included in correspondence sent to her husband from the Houston VA was a copy of an email to a VA employee from a provider that included 32 Veteran names and full Social Security…

Outcome: Staff educated to double check work before sending correspondence to Veterans.

Issue: Employee A was having a conversation with Employee B. Employee A mentioned that the OD VA representative had informed him of personal information on Employee B relating to his service connection conditions and claim information. Update: 08/17/11:Employee B will be…

Outcome: The employee from ODVA is no longer employed at VA. Notification letter mailed 10/06/2011.…

Issue: Lab specimens from Ada CBOC were thrown away in the trash by an employee. The employee states she mistakenly thought the paper towel contained packing cushioning not lab vials. The specimens were labeled with full name, full SSN and the…

Outcome: An internal root cause analysis was performed. The primary error was in lack of communication. Multiple areas for improvement were noted: Re-write of the procedure is in progress anticipated date of completion 9/1/11. We have a primary 'CBOC' tech with…

Issue: Veteran A received Veteran B & C's medication description (no medication) in a shipping bag along with Veteran A's. Veteran A stated that he shredded all paperwork on his home shredder. Update: 08/15/11:Veterans B and C will be sent notification…

Outcome: Pharmacy Clerk was reeducated about being more responsible for patients privacy and signed a new copy of the rules of behavior.

Issue: Employee A reviewed the audit log of record access and questions the accessing of record by Employees B and C. Update: 09/12/11:Employee A will be sent a letter offering credit protection services, since his full SSN and date of birth…

Outcome: Employees pending sanctions for unauthorized access.

Issue: A letter was sent out from Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) to Veteran A. Along with his letter, Veteran A received Veteran B's medication list. Veteran A's daughter notifed the VA. The Privacy Officer has left messages for Veteran B…

Outcome: Unable to determine who made the error. Staff will be provided education and training to ensure correct information is mailed to correct Veteran.…

Issue: A payroll employee intentionally added an unauthorized person to post some timecards. This person was not on the delegation of authority and this employee was fully aware of that. The employee also did this contrary to instructions from her supervisor.…

Outcome: Service is working with HR concerning disciplinary action to be taken. Credit monitoring letters have been sent out.…