Search Privacy Violations, Breaches and Complaints
This database was last updated in December 2015 ago and should only be used as a historical snapshot. More recent data on breaches affecting 500 or more people is available at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Breach Portal.
VA Healthcare System (VISN 10)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on April 19, 2011. Also cited in 119 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000061178, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 10 Chillicothe, OH
Issue:
A package containing various documents including patient prescriptions, Means Tests, and other medical record documents were sent to the main Medical Center by a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) via UPS. Two days later, the package was returned to the CBOC by UPS. The package was damaged and appeared as if a wheel had run over it. The documents inside were torn and damaged and there were at least 2 documents missing and these were prescriptions for narcotics. The missing documents contained at least two Veterans' names, addresses, Full SSNs and protected health information (PHI). The damaged package is being sent to the Privacy Officer via secure mail for further investigation. Update: 04/27/11:The two (2) Veterans whose prescription information was missing from the damaged package will be sent letters offering credit protection services.
Outcome:
Although this particular incident could not have been prevented, as it was due to a mishap by UPS while delivering a package containing PHI, the CBOC instituted a new tracking procedure. All scripts en route to the Medical Center are recorded on an electronic log. Once the scripts are successfully delivered to the Pharmacy, they are marked as received. This way the CBOC is aware of all scripts that were mailed out and can respond to any incidents re. same. Prior to this incident, the CBOC did not keep a list of the scripts sent to the Medical Center to be filled.