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 Southeast Network (VISN 7)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on April 10, 2012. Also cited in 225 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000073880, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 07 Augusta, GA
Issue:
On Tuesday, 04/10/12 the Privacy Officer (PO) was contacted by the PO at an affiliate medical center regarding a stolen personal laptop. A former Chief Resident, who is now an Attending, reported that on 03/30/12, his personal laptop was stolen from his office at the affiliate hospital while he was next door in an exam room. The Police were contacted and a report was filed. According to the physician, the laptop contained both the affiliate\xe2\x80\x99s and VA's data in the form of Word documents and Excel spreadsheets from 2008-2009 during his stint as Chief Resident. The VA files have not been reviewed, but are reported to pertain mainly to undictated discharge summaries with the following data elements: name, date of discharge, last 4 digits of the SSN, length of stay, location at the VA, and Resident\xe2\x80\x99s name. No other VA medical information is reportedly involved. The laptop has not been recovered. The exact number of VA patients impacted is unknown. Copies of the Police Report and further details will be provided to the PO. Update: 04/16/12: The PO has received the copies of the files that were on the laptop, and a review is in process. The PO will update the IRT as soon as a final count is determined. 04/26/12: The PO's review of the 39 files is complete. The files contain protected health information on 824 Veteran patients in the form of undictated hospital summaries from June 2008 through October 2009. 04/30/12: The 824 records are being reviewed to identify the active versus deceased Veterans, in order to determine whether they will receive offers for credit protection services or next of kin notification. 0507/12: The Privacy has provided a final count. 566 Veterans will received letters offering credit protection services and 258 Next-of-Kin notifications will be sent.
Outcome:
Process for residents, trainees, etc. clearing is being addressed by the Chief of Staff and the Education department. Policy in development.