LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

Report ID: IOVI11, California Department of Public Health

Reported Entity: LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

Issue:

Based on interview and record review, the facility failed to ensure the confidential treatment of protected health information (PHI) for Patient A, when an employee 1 gave Patient A's discharge instructions to Patient B. This failure resulted in a breach of Patient A's PHI.Findings:On September 11, 2014 at 4:30 PM, a phone interview was conducted with the Office of Corporate Compliance regarding an entity reported incident of a breach of PHI for Patient A which was detected on August 29, 2014. The wrong discharge instructions were given to the wrong patient.During a review of the documentation dated September 5, 2014, indicated the information that was inadvertently disclosed contained Patient A's name, date of birth, medical record number, list of medications, diagnosis, and a list of upcoming medical appointment.A review of the facility's Policy and procedure titled, "Patients' Rights: Protection of Patient Privacy," dated may 2013, indicated, "All medical center employees, members of the medical staff, house staff, volunteers, faculty, and students, shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of patient information. This responsibility shall include personal observation, oral conversations, the designated record set and its content, and any other electronically stored or written patient or patient- related data." The failure of employee 1 to ensure the discharge instructions were given to the right patient, Patient A, resulted in the unauthorized release of Patient A's PHI to Patient B.

Outcome:

Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Patients' Rights