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 Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on August 15, 2011. Also cited in 187 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000065741, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 06 Salisbury, NC
Issue:
A licensed practical nurse (LPN), dispensed a set of stool occult blood cards without confirming the identity of the recipient, and handed the set of cards to Patient A. The cards included Patient B's name, Social Security Number, and date of birth). In reviewing this set of events with the employee, the Privacy Officer (PO) inquired what happened to the cards that were supposed to be dispensed and she indicated that she put them in the shredder box. No effort was apparently made to determine why the second set of cards was not dispensed. In checking, the PO found that the person associated with the cards dispensed to the wrong patient received nothing. Update: 08/15/11:Patient B will be sent a letter offering credit protection services.NOTE: There were a total of # Mis-Handling incidents this reporting period. Because of repetition, the other # are not included in this report, but are included in the "Mis-Handling Incidents" count at the end of this report. In all incidents, Veterans will receive a notification letter and/or credit monitoring will be offered if appropriate.
Outcome:
The individuals supervisor re educated the staff member on properly identifying patients.