Adventist Medical Center

Report ID: WCX411, California Department of Public Health

Reported Entity: ADVENTIST MEDICAL CENTER

Issue:

Based on staff interview and administrative document review, the hospital failed to keep Protected Health Information (PHI) confidential when Patient 1's PHI was faxed to an unauthorized recipient. This failure resulted in not protecting the PHI for Patient 1 and possible unauthorized use. Findings: 1. On 9/20/13 at 10 a.m., during an interview, the Privacy Officer (PO) stated Patient 1's PHI was faxed to an unauthorized recipient on 2/20/13. PO stated an external Utilization Management nurse received copies of the Patient's PHI. PO stated the copies were placed together with information for another patient and the secretary did not check the papers before faxing them.Review of the medical record indicated the following information was faxed to an unauthorized recipient: A Nursing Rounds report which included; Patient 1's name; date of birth; medical record number; date of service; laboratory results; medical diagnosis; medications and nursing notes. A letter dated 2/25/13 was sent to the patient regarding the breech. The Policy titled, (The Hospital) Network Policy: Faxing Patient Protected Health Information (PHI), dated 12/6/12, Policy Summary/Intent indicated "It is the policy of the organization...It is the senders responsibility to be aware of the content of the faxes they are sending, to exercise caution in faxing confidential information."

Outcome:

Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Patients' Rights