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 Southwest Health Care Network (VISN 18)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on October 11, 2011. Also cited in 228 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000067611, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 18 Phoenix, AZ
Issue:
The Pharmacy Supervisor reported on 10/11/11 that medications for Veteran A were dispensed to Veteran B on 10/07/11. Veteran B did not take any of the medications provided to him and returned medications and education materials to the pharmacy today. Medications were immediately reissued to both Veterans. Further investigation and notification to ensue. Update: 10/12/11:Veteran A will be sent a notification letter due to protected health information (PHI) being exposed.NOTE: There were a total of 20 Mis-Handling incidents this reporting period. Because of repetition, the other 19 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 supervisor met with employee again to review procedures for dispensing medications at the window, i.e., requesting ID card and last 4 of SSN. The supervisor reinforced privacy concepts tied to safety of dispensing medications.