San Francisco VA Health Care System

The San Francisco VA Healthcare System, the covered entity (CE), reported that an employee of its business associate (BA) left a bag containing protected health information (PHI) and an unencrypted thumb drive in a public area. The bag was stolen. This breach affected the PHI of 941 individuals. The PHI involved included names, phone numbers, addresses, medical diagnoses, and Social Security numbers. The CE notified HHS, affected individuals, and the media. In response to the breach incident, the BA retrained its staff on the proper methods of securing protected health information.