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.
COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF SAN BERNARDINO
Cited by the California Department of Public Health for a violation of California’s Health and Safety Code relating to medical privacy during an inspection that began on October 25, 2012. Also cited in 46 other reports.
Report ID: 8X9D11, California Department of Public Health
Reported Entity: COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF SAN BERNARDINO
Issue:
Based on interview and record review, the facility failed to maintain the confidentiality of Patient A's private health information (PHI), when a compact disc (CD) with his X-rays was inadvertently given to the parents of Patient B, who was being discharged at the same time from the emergency room (ER) at the general acute care hospital (GACH). This resulted in a breach of Patient A's PHI.Findings:During an investigation of an entity reported incident on 11/13/12 at 9:00 AM, an interview was conducted with the facility privacy officer (FPO). She stated on 10/7/12, "There were two patients in the ER with the same last name. Patient A's date of birth was 7/12/09, and Patient B's date of birth was 6/11/09. Both had been seen and were to be discharged. Patient B was to have a copy of her X-rays sent with the parents. When the ER nurse went to radiology and received the CD of the X-rays, she did not verify the first name and date of birth. She gave Patient A's results to Patient B's parents who discovered the error and returned the CD to the GACH. The label on the outside of the CD included Patient A's name, date of birth and medical record number."A review of the admit face sheets for both children indicated that Patient A was a male who had presented with a "high fever" and Patient B was a female who had "swelling and pain on the left side of her throat."A review of the facility policy and procedure titled, "Patient Identification Policy" dated 3/89, indicated that staff were to "verify patient identification [using] two sources of information." These sources could include the full name and date of birth if an identification band was not available.A review of the P&P titled, "Safeguarding PHI and Sensitive Information" dated 1/17/12, listed "personal information" as any combination of the individual's first name or first initial, last name and medical record number.During an interview with the FPO on 11/13/12 at 9:15 AM, she stated, "The nurse did not follow the protocol for verifying information prior to giving the CD to the parents."
Outcome:
Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Patients' Rights