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.
Rocky Mountain Network (VISN 19)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on April 17, 2012. Also cited in 133 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000074255, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 19 Salt Lake City, UT
Issue:
An employee admitted to the patient that she had taken it upon herself to access his medical records, prior to a date with the patient, for her own curiosity. The 2nd person was under a contract and had notified a MH crisis team member of his concerns about this patients anger issues. The crisis team included this contractor, via his personal cell phone, in a treatment planning meeting. The contractor also contacted the patient on his personal cell phone and left a message encouraging him to get help. Update: 04/27/12:The patient will be sent a HIPAA notification letter.
Outcome:
Employee was issued a reprimand for accessing this Veterans records inappropriately and reminded again of the importance of protecting our Veterans privacy rights. The other accesses were definitely a "need to know" basis for treatment purposes.