Veterans Integrated Services Networks 23 -- The U.S Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Health Administration is sending letters to 1838 Veterans notifying them of the potential disclosure of limited information that may have been sent to another VA patient. No social security numbers or other identifying information other than name were divulged, when Xerox Corp., under contract to VA, experienced a printing error in November.
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. On Nov. 18th, 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. This error was not discovered until Nov.26.
Corrected appointment postcards were mailed to all affected patients on Dec. 4, and VA is reviewing the quality control processes with the contractor. Additionally, all VA patients who were affected will receive a letter notifying them of this incident.
Veterans who receive health care at the facilities within the VISNs 15 and 23 who have questions or concerns about whether their personal information may have been involved can call 1-877-619-0106 toll free between the hours of 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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Fargo Veterans were not involved in general; however, they could potentially be involved if they also receive care at Nebraska-Western Iowa, Iowa City, Sioux Falls, or Saint Cloud VAs. Veterans that were involved will receive a notification letter. Specific questions can be referred to the hotline, 1-877-619-0106, or the Privacy Office of the facility that the Veteran receives their care.
Fargo VA Health Care System Privacy Officer’s contact information can be found on the web site (https://www.va.gov/fargo-health-care/contact-us/) or at the following:
Jamie Zettel
Privacy & FOIA Officer
Fargo VA Health Care System
Phone: 701-239-3700 x3978