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 Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on May 23, 2011. Also cited in 369 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000062903, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 08 West Palm Beach, FL
Issue:
Folders containing outpatient mental health clinic appointment lists were placed in an unsecured drawer over the weekend. Upon arrival to duty this morning, the Medical Administrative clerk found the labels were removed from the folders and the lists were out of order. The lists contained 161 outpatients' name, full SSN and medical information. Update: 05/24/11: The clerk left the clinic area around 4:30 PM on Friday 05/20/11. The VA Police secured the door as they normally do between 6:00 - 6:30 PM. The area was re-opened by VA Police on Monday 05/23/11 at 5:00 AM. To access the area over the weekend someone would have had to have a standard key to the area and would have had to climb over the clerical counter to access the drawer. There were no clinical or administrative staff assigned to this area over the weekend and there were no clinics in operation. There are no cameras in the area. Due to 161 Veterans information being at risk, 161 Veterans will receive a letter offering credit protection services. 05/25/11: According the Privacy Officer (PO) a meeting was held with appropriate staff to discuss other options and to provide education. If clinic appointment lists are still requested by providers, they will only be printed the morning of the clinic, and shredded at the end of the clinic. The PO is in the process of creating the patient list in a spreadsheet to remove any duplicates and provide an accurate report for requesting promotional codes.
Outcome:
The total number of patients to receive letters offering credit protection is 96 due to duplicate patients on the lists having multiple clinic appointments for that same day. Providers in the clinic have been educated to use the VIEW option in CPRS to electronically view their list of patients, rather than have printed clinic lists. If clinic lists are required, they will be printed prior to the start of the clinic and properly disposed of in the shredding receptacle at the end of the clinic. The Supervisor of the clinic has entered a work order to have keys issued for any cabinets in this area to ensure a higher level of security.