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 Mid South Healthcare Network (VISN 9)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on August 30, 2012. Also cited in 328 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000079730, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 09 Louisville, KY
Issue:
The Pharmacy dispensed medication and gave the medication to the wrong patient. The pharmacy immediately called the patient upon discovering this. The patient indicated that they had already noticed that the medication was not theirs and flushed the medication down the toilet. This has been reported to the OIG, DEA and police officials when this occurred on 8/10/12. The supervisor was just informed that the Privacy Officer (PO) should have been contacted as well. Update: 08/30/12:One patient will be sent a letter of notification.
Outcome:
This information has been reported to the OIG, DEA as well as the police. Both patient's were made aware by the pharmacy what had happened. No one was injured due to this mistake, it was caught in time. Pharmacy chief explained the importance of using identifiers and cross checking before dispensing or giving out medications.