MENIFEE VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER

Report ID: WX3C11.01, California Department of Public Health

Reported Entity: MENIFEE VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER

Issue:

Based on interview and record review, the facility failed to prevent unauthorized disclosure of personal health information (PHI) for one patient (Patient 2) when his face sheet (document containing information about his medical care) was misplaced among documents belonging to a different patient (Patient 1), and faxed to Patient 1's insurance company. This failed practice resulted in the potential for physical, financial, and emotional harm to Patient 2.Findings:During an interview with the facility Privacy Officer (PO) on September 23, 2014, at 3 p.m., the PO stated on September 8, 2014, a case manager faxed information for Patient 1 to his insurance company, then discovered the face sheet for Patient 2 was located within the documents that were faxed. The PO stated Patient 2 did not have coverage from the insurance company that received his face sheet, so they should not have received information about him.The face sheet that was faxed to insurance company was reviewed on September 23, 2014. The face sheet contained the following PHI for Patient 2:1. Name;2. Address;3. Telephone number;4. Date of birth;5. Age;6. Sex;7. Race;8. Marital status;9. Employment status;10. Social security number;11. Physician's name;12. Admission date and time; and,13. Admitting diagnosis.Failure of the case manager to verify the contents of the fax before it was sent to the insurance company resulted in unauthorized persons having access to PHI for Patient 2.

Outcome:

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

Related Reports:

2 other violations reported on the same date. Note that other citations may be about the same event: 37IQ11.01, O1QJ11.01