Veterans Administration Data Breach (2016)

VA physician leaves patient files in his car - a briefcase containing two lists of patient names was stolen from a physician's locked vehicle. The vehicle was parked in front of the employee's home where the car windows were shattered and the contents of the vehicle were stolen. The first list was generated for use at the VA Stand Down on February 27th. The list identified 141 Veterans by first initial, last name, and last four digits of their Social Security Number. The information on the list included the current status of Primary Care Service consults, and which Primary Care group the Veteran consults were assigned to. The list did not include medical information or dates of birth. The second list was of patients in the provider's panel that are on opioids. This list identified 70 Veterans' full name, full Social Security Number, date of birth, opioid prescription nomenclature, and last time ordered.