F0842

E

Unsecured Use of Personal Phones for Resident Medical Information

Winter Haven, Florida Survey Completed on 03-12-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

Surveyors identified a failure to safeguard resident-identifiable information and maintain confidential medical records when staff and the Medical Director used unsecured personal cell phones and standard SMS text messaging to communicate resident information. During an observation and interview with the Medical Director, text messages on his personal phone were observed containing a resident’s identifying information, including a photo and video of the resident. The Medical Director stated that staff regularly sent him text messages about residents. The facility’s policies required safeguarding clinical record information against unauthorized use and ensuring residents’ rights to personal privacy and confidentiality of their personal and medical records.

Further interviews with nursing staff revealed that multiple nurses routinely used their personal phones and regular, non-secure text messaging to communicate protected health information to physicians. One LPN demonstrated how she used her personal phone to text the Medical Director about a resident’s health status and orders, and stated that staff took pictures of prescriptions and texted them to obtain orders. Another LPN and an RN each reported using their personal phones to call and text physicians, including sending pictures of lab results and prescriptions, and confirmed they did not use any special secure messaging system. In contrast, another LPN in training stated she would use the nurses’ station phone and fax machine and would not use her personal phone for such communications. The DON confirmed that staff were expected to use the nurses’ station phone to communicate with physicians and should not have used personal devices or texting for resident information, indicating that the observed practices were inconsistent with facility policy and resident privacy rights.