Unattended Laptop Exposes Resident Health Information
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when an LVN left a laptop unattended in the hallway with a resident's personal and medical information displayed on the screen. This incident was observed by the administrator, who subsequently closed the laptop and addressed the situation with the LVN. The LVN denied leaving the laptop unattended with the resident's information visible. The Director of Nursing (DON) and the administrator both confirmed that staff are expected to ensure resident information is not displayed when devices are unattended, in accordance with facility policy. The resident involved was a female with a history of cerebral infarction, muscle weakness, muscle wasting and atrophy, and unspecified convulsions. She had moderate cognitive impairment as indicated by a BIMS score of 08. The facility's policy requires all employees to keep portable electronic devices and the data on them secure at all times, which was not followed in this instance.