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.
South Central VA Health Care Network (VISN 16)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on February 7, 2011. Also cited in 317 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000058038, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 16 Fayetteville, AR
Issue:
Patient A called his Primary Care Team Clinic to say that he received an appointment letter and clinical notes on Patient B. The documents included Patient B's name, full SSN, DOB and protected health information. They came in an envelope with Patient A's name and address on it. Patient A was instructed to return the documents. A VA self-addressed envelope was mailed to Patient A to use to mail the documents back to the clinic. Update: 02/08/11:Patient B will receive a letter offering credit protection services.NOTE: There were a total of 35 Mis-Mailed incidents this reporting period. Because of repetition, the other 34 are not included in this report, but are included in the "Mis-Mailed Incidents" count at the end of this report. In all incidents, Veterans will receive a notification letter and/or credit monitoring will be offered if appropriate.
Outcome:
Patient A returned the appointment letter to the facility and I have included it with packet. I have spoken to the Primary Care team about being more diligent when mailing out PII.