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.
DOCTORS MEDICAL CENTER
Cited by the California Department of Public Health for violations of California’s Health and Safety Code relating to medical privacy during an inspection that began on February 10, 2012. Also cited in 64 other reports.
Report ID: 33TC11.01, California Department of Public Health
Reported Entity: DOCTORS MEDICAL CENTER
Issue:
Based on staff interview and review of facility documents, the facility failed to prevent the disclosure of Patient A's health information (PHI) while in the emergency department (ED), when another ED patient received Patient A's discharge instructions. Additionally, the facility failed to report an incident of unauthorized disclosure of a patient's medical information to the Department within 5 calendar days.Findings:On 2/10/12 at 12:00 p.m., the facility's investigation of the incident was reviewed with the Compliance Officer (CO). A review of the investigation showed that on 4/26/09, a mother of a child treated in the ED called to report that in the discharge paperwork given to her, she had also received the discharge instructions for Patient A. Per the investigation, the mother destroyed the document. Further review of the incident showed that the on-duty physician's assistant (PA) was the one responsible for the error. The CO confirmed that it was the PA who had discharged the patient who received Patient A's instruction sheet. On 2/10/12 at 12:20 p.m., the CO was asked if she trained facility providers on patient confidentiality and unauthorized disclosure of patient information and she stated, "No, the provider company is supposed to train all of their staff prior to being scheduled." The CO was asked for the PA's staff file and a phone interview was conducted with the Medical Staff Director (MSD) who stated that they do not train the providers and only collect that type of training, if it is provided to them.On 2/10/12 at 12:40 p.m., the CO was asked if she had discussed the incident with the PA and provided further training as per her letter to the Department and she stated, "No that would have been handled by the ED provider group." The CO stated that she was unable to read the name of the discharge staff on the sheet. The CO concurred that it was likely that an ED staff member had discharged the patient and not the PA. The CO also stated that these types of incidents had, "decreased dramatically over time."Review of facility documents indicated that the facility became aware of the incident on 4/26/09 and the Department received a notification by mail on 5/5/09 (4 days after the required report within five days). On 2/10/12 at 1:45 p.m., the facility's Compliance Officer (CO) was asked if they were aware of the 5-day reporting component and she stated, "Yes, but during that time all of the incidents were sent to their corporate headquarters for review prior to reporting."
Outcome:
Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Health & Safety Code 1280