Resident Health Information Disclosed in Public Area
Penalty
No penalty information released
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Summary
The facility failed to protect the confidentiality of a resident's personal and medical information by placing a binder labeled 'Department of Health Surveys' in the main lobby, which was accessible to the public. The binder contained the full health survey and complaint survey results, including a complaint deficiency letter and the associated Statement of Deficiencies (Form CMS-2567) for a complaint investigation. The letter specifically identified a resident by name and included their specific resident identifier, thereby disclosing protected health information (PHI) in violation of the facility's confidentiality policy and HIPAA requirements. This lapse was confirmed through policy review, direct observation, and staff interviews.