Adventist Medical Center

Report ID: RTF511.01, California Department of Public Health

Reported Entity: ADVENTIST MEDICAL CENTER

Issue:

Based on staff interview, clinical record, and administrative document review, the hospital failed to keep Protected Health Information (PHI) confidential when Patient 1's PHI was mailed to an unauthorized recipient. This failure resulted in the breach of Patient 1's PHI and possible unauthorized use. Findings: On 8/26/14 at 1:30 p.m., during an interview, the Privacy officer (PO) stated an outside business associate of the hospital obtained consent to access the medical records for Patient 1 on 3/14/14 and Patient 2 on 3/20/14. Patient 2's medical record was requested by a medical office. Patient 1 and Patient 2's medical record was accessed, printed and mailed to the wrong recipient instead of the medical office.Patient 1 and Patient 2's clinical record from an Emergency Room visit on 3/14/14 included name, address, insurance information, date of birth, date of service, medical record number, diagnosis and clinical findings, medication and treatment, medical history, emergency room reports and discharge instructions. The hospital policy and procedure titled "Use and Disclosure of Protected Health Information", dated 8/29/13, indicated, "Adventist Health is committed to protecting the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI) and our commitment to the HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] Privacy Rule ..."

Outcome:

Deficiency cited by the California Department of Public Health: Patients' Rights

Related Reports:

1 other violation reported on the same date. Note that other citations may be about the same event: 7K4V11.01