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.
KINDRED HOSPITAL - ONTARIO
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 August 14, 2014. Also cited in 5 other reports.
Report ID: 8ZR211, California Department of Public Health
Reported Entity: KINDRED HOSPITAL ONTARIO
Issue:
Based on interview and record review, the facility failed to ensure the confidential treatment of Patient A's protected health information (PHI), when a hospital business associate (Employee 1) sent Patient A's medical records to a hospital, instead of Patient B's medical records as intended. This failure resulted in a breach of PHI for Patient A.Finding:On August 22, 2014 at 2:35 PM, a phone interview was conducted with the Director of Quality Management (DQM) regarding an entity reported incident of a breach of PHI for Patient A, detected on August 5, 2014. The DQM stated, "It was her understanding that the associate did not verify the first and last name correctly before sending the information". During a review of the documentation sent in error, the documentation included Patient A's name, date of birth, dates of service, diagnoses, medical record number, physician name, physician orders, medical history, medications, laboratory test results, consultation notes and expiration summary.A review of the facility policy and procedure titled, "Responding to a Privacy or Security Incident" dated July, 2013, indicated, "In the event of a breach of protected health information by a Business Associate, Kindred will mitigate...any harmful effect..."The failure of Employee 1 to ensure the right records were sent resulted in the unauthorized release of Patient A's PHI.
Outcome:
Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Patients' Rights