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.
Northwest Network (VISN 20)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on April 6, 2011. Also cited in 208 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000060560, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 20 Portland, OR
Issue:
A Veteran came to the Privacy Officer to report that two pages of Veteran B's information were included in the envelope in which he received his medication via UPS. The Veteran showed the entire package to the Privacy Officer and turned over Veteran B's pages.Each of the pages displayed Veteran B's full name, prescription number, and the name of the medication being discussed in the educational material printed on that page. The educational material for Veteran B clearly shows that he had been sent a prescription for Methadone. Disclosure of Veteran B's use of this drug constitutes a 7332 violation as it is specifically used for the treatment of drug addiction. Update: 04/07/11:Veteran B will be sent a notification letter.
Outcome:
The Pharmacy supervisor is to instruct all staff on checking outgoing documents to be sure all education pages are present and no additional pages from other Veteran's printouts are sent to the incorrect Veteran.