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 May 22, 2012. Also cited in 228 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000075843, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 18 Albuquerque, NM
Issue:
A VA employee did not secure/safeguard a cardex at the end of the work day on 05/17/12. When the employee came to work on 05/18/12, the cardex could not be located. This cardex contained names, last four digits of the SSN, primary diagnosis and provider name. It is reported that list contains 290 names. Update: 05/25/12:The search for the hard copy of the cardex continues. This was reported to the VA Police and it is currently being investigated. There is a possibility that a break-in occurred. The Privacy Officer (PO) has an electronic copy and can recreate the list for notifications. 05/30/12:Two-hundred and ninety patients will received letters of notification due to protected health information (PHI) being potentially compromised.
Outcome:
Supervisor re-educated employee on safeguarding PHI.