EISENHOWER MEDICAL CENTER

Report ID: 1X9Q11, California Department of Public Health

Reported Entity: EISENHOWER MEDICAL CENTER

Issue:

Based on interview and record review, the facility failed to prevent the unauthorized access and/or disclosure of Patient A's private/medical information.This failure had the potential to result in the misuse of the patient's private/medical information.Findings:On September 16, 2013, at 4:10 p.m., a phone investigation was conducted for an entity reported incident.In a concurrent interview with the Compliance Specialist (CS), she stated on September 4, 2013, a facility employee, without authorization, accessed an appointment screen for the purpose of viewing Patient A's medical record.A review of the unauthorized documents viewed, contained the following information:Patient A's nameDate of birthMedical record numberHistory of present illnessPast medical historyFamily medical historyPhysical examination findingsProcedures conducted, andDischarge diagnosis.The CS stated the employee did not follow the facility's policy and procedure regarding patient privacy.The facility policy and procedure titled "HIPPA- Use and Disclosure of Protected Health Information undated, indicated "It is the policy of ...(facility's name) that the confidentiality of Protected Health information in records and collected...will be protected to the fullest extent possible."The facility indicated, "To protect the patient's right to privacy and confidentiality, at no time will names or information be shared with any person who does not have the need to know in order to provide patient care."

Outcome:

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