Providence Everett Medical Center, which set up new faxing policies last year after medical information was mistakenly faxed to the home of a Marysville man, has had the problem occur again.
This time, the fax, containing confidential patient medical information, was accidentally sent to The Herald’s newsroom.
The problem occurred when an employee was trying to fax medical information using a list of fax numbers for 650 area physicians who have credentials to treat hospital patients, hospital spokeswoman Cheri Russum said.
Two local physicians have the same last name, Christian Schmitt and James Schmitt, but work in two different buildings in Everett.
The employee mistakenly used the three-digit prefix from Christian Schmitt’s fax number and added the last four digits from James Schmitt’s fax number.
“We want to emphasize that protecting patient privacy is of utmost concern and importance,” Russum said.
An investigation occurs when any fax containing patient medical information is sent to the wrong number, she said, “and is followed up on.”
“We continue to educate staff,” Russum said.
An e-mail was sent to staff Wednesday reminding them of the hospital’s policies to try to prevent medical information from being electronically sent to the wrong fax recipient.
“The policy hasn’t changed,” Russum said. “We want to make sure everyone is doing diligent duty to adhere to it.”
Last year’s incident of medical records being faxed to a private Marysville residence was publicized nationally because it occurred shortly after strict new privacy rules went into effect. The hospital responded with a plan it hoped would reduce the number of faxes that were electronically sent to the wrong number.
These include: allowing only designated employees in each department to send faxes that include patient medical information; double-checking the fax numbers before faxes are sent; requiring a report on all misdirected faxes; having a 24-hour phone number people can call to report misdirected faxes; and dispatching someone to retrieve misdirected faxes in the Puget Sound region.
The Washington State Hospital Association told its members of the plan, saying it could be used as a model for hospitals statewide.
The medical fax sent to The Herald is not the only example of misdirected faxes, hospital officials said.
In the last 12 months, there have been 262 faxes sent to the wrong number, Russum said, averaging about 22 a month. The number has declined to about 15 a month for the last four months. Overall, about one out of 3,000 faxes is sent to the wrong number, she added. Last month, the hospital sent out 42,656 faxes with medical information, she said.
A fax is listed as misdirected even if it goes to a medical office, Russum said.
For instance, one fax was listed as misdirected when it went to a Group Health physician who had changed offices, said Ann Dubois, who does record keeping and follow-up reports on fax problems at the hospital.
Faxes also are reported as misdirected if one physician electronically copies the information to another doctor and the office is not expecting it.
Hospital officials said they did not have the number of faxes mistakenly sent to businesses or private homes for the last year. However, last month, of the 15 misdirected faxes, three went to private homes or businesses, Russum said.
The Everett hospital is following a national trend to move more medical records to Internet systems.
Next month, X-rays and other imaging tests can be viewed by physicians at their offices, Russum said. By year’s end, physicians will be able to check on medical information and updates for hospitalized patients online.
“Faxes won’t be necessary,” said Paula Bradlee, who oversees medical privacy issues for the hospital.
“There’s a lot being built into the system to protect patient privacy,” Russum said of the switch to Internet medical record keeping.
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