ADVENTIST MEDICAL CENTER - REEDLEY

Report ID: PTBM11, California Department of Public Health

Reported Entity: ADVENTIST MEDICAL CENTER - REEDLEY

Issue:

Based on staff interview, clinical and administrative document review, the facility failed to keep Protected Health Information (PHI) confidential when:On 12/27/13 Patient 1's clinical records were faxed to a produce company instead of the doctor's office.This failure resulted in unauthorized access to Patient 1's PHI and the potential for abuse of the PHI.Findings:On 3/21/14 at 3:42 p.m., during an interview, Privacy Officer (PO) stated that Unit Assistant (UA) called physician's office to obtain their fax number, and was given an incorrect number by the office staff. The UA received a call from private business, saying they had received the fax in error. PO stated the UA should have read back the fax number to office staff before faxing paperwork.On 3/21/14 Patient 1's clinical record was reviewed. The clinical record contained name, medical record number, clinical findings, lab results, x-ray results and discharge instructions.The hospital policy and procedure titled "Policy: Faxing Patient Protected Health Information PHI," dated 12/6/12 indicated, "It is the policy of the organization to authorize faxing of confidential documents only in cases when it is an emergency... It is the senders responsibility to be aware of the content of the faxes they are sending, to exercise caution in faxing confidential information."

Outcome:

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