ADVENTIST MEDICAL CENTER - REEDLEY

Report ID: N0HC11.02, California Department of Public Health

Reported Entity: ADVENTIST MEDICAL CENTER - REEDLEY

Issue:

Based on staff interview, clinical record and administrative document review, the hospital failed to keep Protected Health Information (PHI) confidential when Staff 1 faxed Patient 1's Emergency Department medical records to a skilled nursing facility in error. This failure placed Patient 1's PHI at a potential risk for unauthorized use. Findings:On 1/2/14 at 10:30 a.m., during an interview, the Privacy Officer (PO) confirmed on 2/19/13, Patient 1's PHI had been breached when Emergency Department medical records belonging to Patient 1 were faxed to a skilled nursing facility in error. This error was discovered on 2/19/13, and reported to the department on 2/26/13.Patient 1's PHI which was breached included the following: name, medical record number, date of birth, admission and discharge dates, social security number, Insurance and insurance policy number.The facility's policy and procedure (P&P) titled, "Obligations Regarding Confidentiality," dated 8/03, indicated, "...Confidential information specifically includes medical information related to patients...Covered Persons [defined as all employees] are obligated to keep in confidence and not access, publish, or otherwise disclose, use, alter or destroy, any confidential information that they may acquire, learn, develop or create by reason of their employment or other work with [hospital's initials]... Medical information must never be disclosed to unauthorized parties."

Outcome:

Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Patients' Rights

Related Reports:

The report containing this deficiency also includes information about 1 other violation. Note that these may be related to the same event: N0HC11.01