Mercy Medical Center

Report ID: OWS711.01, California Department of Public Health

Reported Entity: MERCY MEDICAL CENTER

Issue:

Based on staff interview, clinical record review and administrative document review, the facility failed to ensure confidentiality of protected health information (PHI) when a facility wound care camera containing PHI of 21 Patients (Patient 1-21) was lost.This failure resulted in the potential for unauthorized access and abuse of Patient 1-21's PHI.Findings:On 7/12/13 at 1:07 p.m., during an interview, the Privacy Officer (PO) stated a camera containing PHI of 21 patients was taken from the 6th floor to the 7th floor by a volunteer to have wound pictures printed. Registered Nurse (RN) 1 called the 7th floor later in the shift to ask for the photos and the camera to be returned. She was told the camera could not be located. When the PO was notified an investigation was done and it was determined that 21 patient photos and PHI were on the camera before it was lost.Patient 1-21's PHI on the camera included Patient name, date of birth, admission date, sex, provider name, medical record number, and account number.The hospital's policy and procedure title "Protected Health Information and Sensitive Information, Safeguarding of" dated 12/09 indicated "It is the policy of [hospital] to comply with state and federal regulations regarding the safeguarding of physical and electronic form of Protected Health Information (PHI). Staff shall provide appropriate access to its information based on a need-to-know basis while preserving its confidentiality and integrity."

Outcome:

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

Related Reports:

2 other violations reported on the same date. Note that other citations may be about the same event: 6LH311.01, RWNR11.01