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.
Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on September 4, 2013. Also cited in 53 other reports.
Report ID: PSETS0000094179, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: CLEVELAND OH - 541
Issue:
A VA employee who works for Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) in Painesville reported that his government vehicle, which was parked at the State Street Clinic, was broken into between 4:00 PM 09/03/13 and 7:40 AM 09/04/13. There was a government laptop in the vehicle and it was stolen. The laptop is encrypted however the VA employee wasnt sure if there was patient information stored on the laptop. It was reported to the VA Police.
Outcome:
09/09/13: The laptop was encrypted. It was last seen at 4:00 PM on 09/03/13. It was used by a HBPC employee to access Outlook email and CPRS for charting patient encounters. There was no personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI) stored on the laptop. It was in the car because the employee works outreach and drives to the patients' homes. He was not on duty at the time. A computer bag, an electrical power source and a trip ticket binder were also taken. One, or possibly two, patients' medication reconciliation forms were also taken. The employee can reconstruct what was on those papers. 09/17/13: The laptop and bag were recovered on 09/15/13 in a suspect's residence. In the bag were 21 pages of documents. There were 141 patients' full names, last four of SSNs, home addresses and home telephone numbers. The Privacy Officer (PO) requested the ticket be re-opened this morning in light of the new evidence. Previously, the employee stated there were only two patients' information in the bag. The 141 patients will receive HIPAA notification letters.