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.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported a breach of medical information involving at least 500 people to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights; the report was received on April 10, 2013. Also cited in 336 other reports.
Report ID: SC011, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
Reported Entity: Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC
Issue:
A laptop computer contained the protected health information (PHI) of approximately 7,405 individuals was stolen from the Pulmonary Testing Unit of the William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the covered entity (CE). The PHI involved in the breach included names, dates of birth, and clinical information. The CE provided breach notice to HHS, the media and affected individuals and provided substitute notification on its website. It also offered affected individuals credit monitoring services including identity theft protection for one year. The CE also filed a report with the VA police and VA Office of Inspector General (OIG). In response to the breach, the CE improved safeguards by physically protecting all laptops attached to medical testing devices and established policies and procedures requiring clinic staff to securely store and purge all personally identifiable information from such medical devices. As a result of OCR's investigation, OCR obtained assurances that the corrective actions listed above were completed.