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.
ST BERNARDINE MEDICAL CENTER
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 November 18, 2011. Also cited in 41 other reports.
Report ID: V0CU11, California Department of Public Health
Reported Entity: ST BERNARDINE MEDICAL CENTER
Issue:
Based on interview and record review, the facility failed to protect Patient A ' s medical information. This breach caused Patient A ' s protected health care information to be released.Findings:The facility self reported that Employee A, a billing clerk, inadvertently included a printed report titled, " Cash Posting Audit -Batch 358 - Self Pay " , along with a patient ' s claim for payment to a health insurance company.The report included with the claim was a report that showed cash payments, list of patients name (Total of 24 patients), internal visit number, payment amount and date of payment.During an interview with the health information officer on 3/28/12 at approximately 1:45 PM, stated that the "Cash Posting Audit" is an internal report. The health information officer confirmed that the billing clerk (Employee A) failed to verify and check each piece of paper to ensure correct documents are submitted to the insurance carrier.Review of the facility ' s policy and procedure titled " Safeguarding PHI and Sensitive Information " , effective date: 1/5/09 indicated, " It is the policy of ... to provide appropriate access to its information based on a need-to-know basis while preserving its confidentiality and integrity. The ... facility shall implement reasonable and appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards ... "
Outcome:
Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Patients' Rights