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.
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - RIVERSIDE
Cited by the California Department of Public Health for a violation of California’s Health and Safety Code relating to medical privacy during an inspection that began on October 19, 2012. Also cited in 25 other reports.
Report ID: U9Q711, California Department of Public Health
Reported Entity: KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL, RIVERSIDE
Issue:
Based on interview and record review, the facility failed to prevent the unauthorized access and/or disclosure of Patient A's medical information. This had the potential to result in misuse of private information.Findings:On October 19, 2012, at 8:35 a.m., an investigation was conducted for an entity reported incident. On October 19, 2012, at 9:05 a.m., the Compliance Project Manager (CPM) was interviewed. The CPM stated on September 11, 2012, Patient 1 (not authorized to receive Patient A's Protected Health Information) was discharged with Patient A's (a newborn) discharge information. The CPM stated the facility's process was to have two nurses check all discharge documents being sent with the patient, which would ensure that the documents matched the right patient. She stated that this process should always be done at the patient's bedside. The CPM stated two license nurses checked and verified the right documents, but they did not do the verification at Patient 1's bedside. Patient A's discharge instructions were provided to Patient 1, which contained the Patient A's name, date of birth, medical record number, and his mother's name. The facility policy titled, "Mitigation of Impermissible Uses and Disclosure of Protected Health Information" revised on October 2010, was reviewed. The policy indicated, "Kaiser Permanente (KP) must take action to reduce or eliminate, to the extent feasible, any known harm caused by an impermissible use or disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) by KP or its business associates."The policy further indicated, "Protected Health Information (PHI) - Individually identifiable health information including demographic information...created or obtained by a covered entity that is related to an Individual's past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition, including the provision of his/her health care..." The policy further indicated, "...Individually identifiable means that the information either identifies the Individual or there is a reasonable basis to believe that the information can be used to identify the Individual, such as name, date of birth, address...other personal identifiers..."
Outcome:
Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Health & Safety Code 1280