Failure to Maintain Resident Health Information Confidentiality
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain the confidentiality of a resident's protected health information when a medication card containing private medical details was given to another resident at discharge. Specifically, a resident with diagnoses including acute myeloblastic leukemia, type two diabetes mellitus, atherosclerotic heart disease, and hypertension, who had moderately impaired cognition and required staff assistance with activities of daily living, was discharged, and their medication card for Lasix 40 mg was mistakenly sent home with another resident. The error was discovered when the receiving resident's family notified the facility about the medication mix-up. The facility's policy required the protection of resident health information, but this policy was not followed in this instance.