VA Mid South Healthcare Network (VISN 9)

Issue: Veteran A received Veteran B's appointment letter and Veteran C's lab results in his mail. The data contained the Full Name, Home Address, Last 4 of SSN. It involved 2 patients and was outside of VA Control > 72 hours.…

Outcome: Employees were reminded to protect PHI.

Issue: A Veteran/Employee became deceased. Employees may have inappropriately accessed the Veterans record after the death. Investigation is continuing. Update: 11/01/12:This was an inappropriate access. The Veteran/Employee's next of kin will be sent a notification letter.…

Outcome: Employee was required to complete Privacy re-Training and administrative action was given.

Issue: Patient A received Patient B's appointment letter. The information contained on it was the full name, home address, last 4 digits of the SSN and appointment information. It was outside of VA control for > 72 hours and involved 1…

Outcome: Reminded Employees of the need to protect PHI when mailing.

Issue: Patient A received Patient B's test results letter. The information contained on the letter was full name, address and medical test results. The information was outside of VA control for > 72 hours and involved 1 patient. The Privacy Officer…

Outcome: Reminded Employees of the need to protect PHI when mailing.

Issue: Patient A contacted the pharmacy to say he had received a bottle of medication belonging to Patient B when he received his own medications. He is to return the medication and paperwork to the pharmacy. Update: 10/16/12:Patient B will be…

Outcome: Staff reminded to use caution when handling medications.

Issue: Call center employee reported that Veteran A called, stating that he had received copies of his lab reports along with Veteran B's information. Privacy Officer informed employee to contact Veteran A to obtain exact information that was disclosed. Update: 10/15/12:Veteran…

Outcome: Business office staff in the area where the envelope containing two patient's information were strongly urged to review each page before filling the envelopes.

Issue: On Sunday, October 14, 2012, the Supervisory Medical Administration Specialist, Nashville Campus, found a partial set of chemistry labels on the first floor, in front of Stairwell 2, Area A, Nashville Campus.The labels contained a Veterans full name, full social…

Outcome: 10/17/12 - Employee counseled on the importance of safeguarding Veteran's PII. Staff, Opt Lab, have been instructed to place loose labels in privacy envelopes when drawing blood on the units or transporting specimens. CM letter mailed.…

Issue: VA Patient A received mail from the VA Medical Center at his home address which contained Patient B's clinic reminder notification letter. The recipient mailed the notification letter to Patient B using the address on the letter. The letter contained…

Outcome: The incident may have resulted from mail sorting machine at the facility Mail Room which needs to be calibrated. PO met with Assistant Chief of Business Office and Mail Room Supervisor to address the issue. The Supervisor agreed to schedule…

Issue: The Privacy Officer atthe Murfreesboro Campus was notified of the following incident by an employee, Chattanooga Outpatient Clinic (COPC). COPC received an envelope from the Post Office which was returned due to an insufficient address. Through the window of the…

Outcome: 10/23/12 - The PO found the responsible employee failed to do a quality check on the envelopes before mailing. Employee has undergone education and training regarding the importance of checking documents prior to mailing. CM letter mailed to both Veterans.…

Issue: Today, October 10, 2012 Veteran A was given a urine specimen cup which belonged to Veteran B. The label, on the specimen cup, contained Veteran Bs full name, full SSN, and DOB. The specimen cup was returned to staff for…

Outcome: 10/17/12 - Employees counseled on the importance of safeguarding Veteran's PII. CM letter mailed.…