VA Southeast Network (VISN 7)

Issue: A Physicians Health & Injury Clinic employee contacted the Dorn VA Medical Center Release of Information (ROI) to inform her that she faxed a request for copies of radiology reports for Veteran A early this morning. She advised that the…

Outcome: Employee counseled on 6/20/12. Privacy incident reviewed with all staff at HIMS staff meeting on 7/10/12.…

Issue: Veteran #1 contacted a Dorn VA Patient Representative to inform her that he had not been notified of the results of his MRI report, but he received a reminder by mail of his upcoming Hematology appointment scheduled on 12/8/12. The…

Outcome: Staff has been re-educated on the need to safeguard patient information.

Issue: Employee's OPF file requested from Augusta VAMC by Charleston VAMC in March. UPS shows mailroom employee signing for item on March 8th. Human Resources never received the package and employee who signed cannot remember what transpired. Three months later the…

Outcome: Mailroom staff has been given a standard operating procedure (SOP) regarding UPS envelopes coming to the VAMC. The contact person at the UPS center has been advised to destroy all remaining labels listing Veterans Canteen Service as the delivery point…

Issue: Patient A was in the Birmingham VA Medical Center (BVAMC) Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) yesterday for a scheduled appointment. That afternoon, after returning home, Patient A discovered that the Cumulative Lab Report and Medication Reconciliation Report that he had…

Outcome: Documents were retrieved and employees were re-educated on processes and required to re-take the Privacy and Security Training. Credit monitoring letters were sent to Patients B and C.…

Issue: Veteran A contacted the Health Resource Center (HRC) to report that he had received a billing statement that contained Veteran B's information (full name, medication name, provider name, prescription number, charges, and account information). The mailing address for Veteran B…

Outcome: Documents returned and destroyed. Section Chief alerted in order to made the necessary corrections to the record, and prevent any future disclosure errors.

Issue: Veteran A contacted Pharmacy Service staff on 6/11/12 regarding not receiving his medication (morphine). Pharmacy Service staff member contacted UPS representative who confirmed that medication was never delivered on 6/1/12. UPS representative was requested to place a tracer on the…

Outcome: The VA Police have been notified for further investigation.

Issue: Veteran A contacted the Health Resource Center (HRC) to report that he had received a letter addressed to him, which contained Veteran B's information in the form of a bill statement and bill profile (full social security number, address, account…

Outcome: Documents returned and destroyed. Section Chief alerted in order to made the necessary corrections to the record, and prevent any future disclosure errors.

Issue: Veteran A called the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) and the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) to report he received a letter in the mail containing Veteran B's name and SSN. The Privacy Officer (PO) has contacted Veteran…

Outcome: The employee was retrained on the importance of double-checking documents to ensure the correct patient information is present before mailing the documents. If needed, the employee can use a brief checklist to ensure accuracy.

Issue: A VA employee accessed another VA employee's medical records (also a Veteran) without authorization. Update: 06/01/12:The Veteran will receive a letter offering credit protection service.…

Outcome: Administrative personnel action being sought out by supervisor and HR. Personnel reminded of the HIPAA Privacy Rule.…

Issue: On 05/24/12, the Release of Information Office (ROI) received a letter and subpoena from an attorney requesting a copy of Veterans medical record. The attorney requesting the records represents the defendant in the case. Upon research, the Lead ROI Technician…

Outcome: The ROI clerk retired on 05/31/12. All ROI employees have been re-educated on processing subpoenas. Medical records are not permitted to be released based solely on a subpoena unless the Veteran is deceased. Per discussion with a Dorn VAMC Regional…