EISENHOWER MEDICAL CENTER

Report ID: URCZ11.01, California Department of Public Health

Reported Entity: EISENHOWER MEDICAL CENTER

Issue:

Based on interview and record review, the facility failed to prevent unauthorized disclosure of protected health information (PHI) for one patient (Patient 1) when the Cancer Center sent a follow up letter to her last address on file, and the individual who received it was not Patient 1. This failed practice resulted in the potential for physical and emotional harm to Patient 1.Findings:During an interview with the facility Privacy Officer (PO) on May 20, 2014, at 10:15 a.m., the PO stated the Cancer Center staff sent follow up letters to patients who had been treated at the center, and the letter they sent to Patient 1 at her last known address was received by the indivudal who currently lived there, which was not Patient 1.The letter that was sent to Patient 1, and received by an unintended individual, was reviewed on May 20, 2014. The letter included the following PHI:1. Patient name;2. Cancer registry number; and,3. Classification of the type of tumor she had.Failure to verify the address for Patient 1 prior to sending mail to her resulted in an unauthorized person having access to Patient 1's PHI.The facility made multiple attempts to locate the current and correct contact information for Patient 1 so they could notify her of the unauthorized disclosure of her PHI. The attempts were unsuccessful, and the facility was not able to notify her.

Outcome:

Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Health & Safety Code 1280

Related Reports:

1 other violation reported on the same date. Note that other citations may be about the same event: BRU011.01