MENIFEE VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER

Report ID: GNTF11.01, California Department of Public Health

Reported Entity: MENIFEE VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER

Issue:

Based on interview and record review, the facility failed to prevent unauthorized disclosure of protected health information (PHI) for one patient (Patient 1) when an employee in the radiology department faxed her x-ray report to a private residence instead of to her physician's office. This failed practice resulted in the potential for emotional and financial harm to patient 1.Findings:During an interview with the facility privacy officer (PO) on May 19, 2015, at 1:30 p.m., the PO stated a radiology department employee received a request from Patient 1 on May 6, 2015, to fax her x-ray report to her physician's office. According to the PO, the employee used the fax number provided by the patient, and did not verify the number with the physician's office before sending the fax, but she should have. The PO stated instead of going to the physician's office, the fax went to a private residence.The document faxed to the private residence was reviewed on May 19, 2015. The document contained the following PHI for Patient 1:1. Name;2. Date of birth/age;3. Medical record number;4. Date of x-ray study;5. Type of x-ray study; and,6. Results of x-ray.Failure of the radiology employee to verify the fax number before sending the document resulted in unauthorized disclosure of PHI for Patient 1.

Outcome:

Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Health & Safety Code 1280

Related Reports:

1 other violation reported on the same date. Note that other citations may be about the same event: KSYS11.01