VA Southwest Health Care Network (VISN 18)

Report ID: SPE000000071734, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Reported Entity: VISN 18 Big Spring, TX

Issue:

On 02/10/12, Big Springs, TX VAMC shipped 65 boxes on two pallets to the Records Center & Vault (RC&V) in Neosho, Missouri. Yellow Freight delivered them on 02/13/12. The boxes contained medical files. Upon delivery the RC&V staff noticed there were only 64 boxes on the pallets. The RC&V Archives Technician called the Big Springs Point of Contact (POC) who confirmed that there were 65 boxes on the pallets when they were picked up from Big Springs. The missing box was stacked on the very top of pallet two. The shrink wrap was loose in the spot where the box was at one point. The RC&V contacted the VA Transportation office and informed them of the missing box. Yellow Freight provided a tracking number. The Big Springs POC stated the missing box contained eight files for three Veterans in addition to the entire inventory for all 65 boxes. The inventory consists of the full name, Social Security number, and chart number. Update: 02/21/12: The facility Privacy Officer (PO) and facility Logistics have a ticket into Yellow Freight to locate the missing box. As of 02/21/12, Yellow Freight has not been able to locate the missing box. 02/27/12: The facility is awaiting a response from Yellow Freight. The timeframe Yellow Freight allows for searching for a missing item has not lapsed. 03/08/12: Yellow Freight has not located the missing box. 03/13/12: The Data Breach Core Team (DBCT) has determined to move ahead with next-of-kin notifications due to the length of time the shipping company has been looking for the missing box. Four-hundred and eight Next of Kin Letters will be sent.

Outcome:

Next of kin notification letters have been sent.

Related Reports:

2 other violations reported on the same date. Note that other citations may be about the same event: SPE000000071714, SPE000000071724