VA notifying Veterans of potential limited information disclosure
PRESS RELEASE
January 25, 2024
BEDFORD , MA — The Veterans Health Administration is sending letters to 46,677 Veterans notifying them of the potential disclosure of limited information that may have been sent to another VA patient.
Veteran Integrated Services Network 1, also known as VISN 1 or VA New England Healthcare System, had 22,351 letters mailed. VISN 2 had 24,326 letters mailed. No social security numbers or other identifying information were divulged in the mix-up, which was caused when Xerox Corporation, under contract to VA, experienced a printing error in December 2023.
The appointment notification postcards were generated by an application that converts information in a patient’s electronic health record to an easy-to-read format, then prints, seals and mails the postcards. The event was reported Dec. 11, 2023.
The event involved reminder notifications for appointments scheduled from Dec. 11, 2023, through Dec. 15, 2023. The application printed postcards addressed to patients that contained appointment scheduling and reminders for other patients. This was due to a misalignment, or improper match, of the content with the name and address of the appointment postcard recipient.
Again, no social security number or other identifying information was disclosed. Veterans affected will receive a Privacy HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act – Notification Letter.
Veterans who have questions or concerns about whether their personal information may have been involved can call and leave a message at 1-844-838-5433 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Calls will be returned by privacy officers from local VA medical centers within two business days.