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.
VA Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on April 4, 2011. Also cited in 369 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000060379, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 08 Gainesville, FL
Issue:
Veteran A received the medication reconciliation summary for Veteran B. Veteran A reported the violation to his Congressman who sent the matter to this facility. Patient Services reported the issue was closed with the Congressional Office. The Privacy Office (PO) will investigate further. The disclosed information included Veteran B's name, address, and medication list. Update: 04/04/11: Veteran B will be sent a notification letter. 05/11/11: To avoid future errors of providing patient medication information to the wrong patients, both the nursing staff and the physicians will check the handouts being given to the patients. During the medication reconciliation process, a patient's medication list is printed and discussed with patient to ensure both the provider and patient are aware of all medication being taken. Either the nurse or physician prints the list and the list is shared with the patient. In this case, the patients had close appointment times and an oversight occurred. In the future, all staff have been directed to review and verify patient demographic information on all documentation prior to discussing and/or giving that information to patients. NOTE: There were a total of 118 Mis-Mailed incidents this reporting period. Because of repetition, the other 117 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:
It was determined this was unintentional and the result of human error. The responsible physician was counseled and completed refresher VA Privacy and Security training. The Office has taken measures to ensure that this does not happen again.