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 August 9, 2012. Also cited in 208 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000079010, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 20 Portland, OR
Issue:
While leaving a clinic appointment on July 12, 2012 the clinic staff scheduled a follow-up appointment for Aug 9, 2012 and printed an gave the Veteran an appointment letter with the pending appointment date and time. The employee who created the new appointment and printed the letter mistakenly selected another Veteran when he created the appointment. The Veteran showed up for the appointment today but the clinic staff did not see him scheduled. They were able to see him. After returning home the Veteran found the letter and noticed it had another Veterans name and mailing address printed on it. He faxed a copy of the letter to the facility to report the mistake. The Privacy Officer has spoken the Veteran and made arrangements for him to mail the letter to the facility so it can be correctly shredded and noted for this ticket. The Veteran did not mention if he had noticed the other Veteran's initial and partial social security number printed in the top corner of the letter. Update: 08/10/12:One Veteran will be sent a letter of notification.
Outcome:
The employees who made the mistake and gave the letter to the wrong Veteran when both were at the clinic have been advised by their supervisor to take greater precautions before handing printed material to the Veterans or mailing it.