VA Health Care Upstate New York (VISN 2)

Report ID: SPE000000076111, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Reported Entity: VISN 02 Syracuse, NY

Issue:

Acquisitions and Materials Management employee reported to the Privacy Officer that while in the hallway, he received from a Veteran appointment letters addressed to two other patients that the had found in the ground floor bathroom. The letters had not yet been sealed in the envelope and contained the patients' full name, address, and a request to schedule an appointment at the MOVE clinic, were turned into the Privacy Officer who later turned into the Administrative Officer for Primary Care for follow up. After further review by the AO it was determined that the clinic nurse had dropped the letters out of her pocket when using the bathroom while on her way to the mail room to mail the letters to the patients. Update: 05/29/12:Two patients will be sent notification letters due to PHI being exposed.08/14/12An appeal was filed requesting credit protection services for one of the patients on the basis that this was the second time one patient's information was compromised. The DBCT revwed and denied the appeal based on the fact that we do not have the statutory authority to provide credit protection services unless the breach warrants those services. This ticket does not involve the compromise of the full SSN or the name and date of birth, so credit protection services are not warranted. Notification letters are still the only letters required.

Outcome:

Employee re-educated on required safeguarding practicies of patient sensitive information especially when transporting to the mail room.