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.
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - SACRAMENTO
Cited by the California Department of Public Health for violations of California’s Health and Safety Code relating to medical privacy during an inspection that began on July 25, 2013. Also cited in 12 other reports.
Report ID: BRGC11.01, California Department of Public Health
Reported Entity: KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - SACRAMENTO
Issue:
Facility determined the Breach of PHI was reportable on 2/13/10.Facility reported the Breach of PHI to the Department on 3/3/10.Facility notified Patient 1 of the Breach of PHI on 3/2/10.Based on staff interview and facility document reviews, the facility failed to:1) prevent the unlawful or unauthorized disclosure of Patient 1 ' s medical information, when an employee inadvertently gave Patient 1 ' s discharge instructions to Patient 2, 2) report the breach to the department within the mandated 5 business days following detection of the breach, and3) notify the patient of the breach within the mandated 5 business days following detection of the breach.These failures placed Patient 1 at risk of compromised health information of a sensitive nature.Findings:Review of the entity reported incident submitted to the department on 3/3/10 revealed on February 13, 2010, an employee inadvertently gave Patient 1 ' s discharge instructions to Patient 2. The discharge instructions contained Patient 1 ' s name, date of birth, admission and discharge dates, physician name, medications, procedure performed, equipment, and follow-up appointment information. The facility became aware when the Home Health Physical Therapist made a home visit on 2/13/10 and was informed by Patient 2 of the error.An interview was conducted with the facility Compliance Officer (CO) 1 on 3/5/14 at 1:30 p.m. She stated when the facility investigated this occurrence, the facility was unable to determine how Patient 1 ' s discharge instructions were included in Patient 2 ' s paperwork. CO 1 verified that the facility notified the Department on 3/3/10 by email. The patient was notified by letter on 3/2/10. CO 1 stated the Home Health Physical Therapist had provided an in-home visit to Patient 2 and discovered Patient 1 ' s discharge instructions were included in Patient 2 ' s instructions. On 2/13/10, the Physical Therapist completed a Responsible Reporting Form and submitted it to Risk Management. On 2/19/10, Risk Management sent the form back to Home Health and then Home Health sent it to the Compliance department causing a delay in reporting the incident. She confirmed the facility should have notified the patient and Department by 2/26/10.
Outcome:
Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Health & Safety Code 1280