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 Southwest Health Care Network (VISN 18)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on August 12, 2011. Also cited in 228 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000065719, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 18 Phoenix, AZ
Issue:
A VA Occupational Health employee sent her own employee health information via inter-office mail to another VA employee and the document is now missing. The information contained her name, partial SSN and personal medical information. Update: 08/17/11:Due to health information being exposed, Employee A will be sent a notification letter.
Outcome:
The employee who sent the document was retrained on how to mail interoffice documents properly. The employee whose information is missing was advised on risk management options while the search for document was occurring. This included reporting to their bank, credit card issuers and other such agencies regarding the potential loss of document. The employee was advised on the option of placing a credit freeze on his accounts. The Privacy Officer will meet with Occupational Health to ensure that methods for submitting this type of information are secured and received in the most secure way.