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 Heartland Network (VISN 15)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on August 15, 2011. Also cited in 149 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000065777, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 15 Kansas City, MO
Issue:
The Patient Advocate sent an email advising the Privacy Officer (PO) of an incident. Veteran A came to Patient Advocate on 08/15/11 and reported receiving an appointment cancellation letter that had a list of other patient names attached to it. The cancellation letter was dated 07/26/11. The attached list contained five (5) individual's personal information including Veteran A's personal information. The information contain on the list included: full names, full SSNs, clinic appointment times, the name of then Mental Health Clinic and individuals phone numbers. Update: 08/15/11:The 4 other Veterans on the list will be offered credit protection services.
Outcome:
PO assured responsible clinic clerk is current with VHA Privacy Policy Web Based Training. Additionally employee reminded of need to be careful when mailing PII/PHI. Additional sanctions possible. (gkg)