Over the course of the past few months, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), both of which are divisions of the U.S. Department of Health and...more
6/28/2024
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Information Technology ,
OCR ,
ONC ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues
You are the HIPAA privacy official of a hospital or health plan (a covered entity under HIPAA). You receive an email from a vendor that handles protected health information (a business associate), informing you that one month...more
1/5/2024
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Personally Identifiable Information
Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) may yet announce one or two year-end settlements, it appears that 2019 will be known more for the implementation of changes in...more
1/29/2020
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
OCR ,
Penalties ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Violations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) imposed $2,154,000 in civil monetary penalties against Jackson Health System in Florida for failing to meet HIPAA privacy and security...more
10/28/2019
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Data Breach ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Information Technology ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Regulatory Violations
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services announced it reached a settlement with Elite Dental Associates of Dallas (Elite) to resolve a complaint alleging Elite impermissibly disclosed a...more
10/8/2019
/ Calculation of Penalties ,
Corrective Actions ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Information Technology ,
Notice of Privacy Practices ,
OCR ,
Online Reviews ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Settlement ,
Social Media
The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (OCR) announced that it has entered into a settlement with a business associate that provides electronic medical records services to health care...more
On May 6, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced an agreement with Touchstone Medical Imaging, LLC (Touchstone)...more
5/8/2019
/ Corrective Actions ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Security Rule ,
Security Standards ,
Settlement Agreements
The Department of Health and Human Services has announced that it is lowering the maximum amount it will assess for most types of HIPAA violations. Although the change is couched as an exercise of discretion, HHS states that...more
5/6/2019
/ Business Associates ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HITECH Act ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Regulatory Violations
On February 7, 2019, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published the resolution agreement for its final HIPAA settlement of 2018. ...more
2/15/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Management ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Information Technology ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Risk Management ,
Settlement Agreements
A relatively quiet year for HIPAA enforcement is ending with a small flourish. The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced two settlements with covered entities within the...more
12/17/2018
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Information Technology ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Settlement Agreements
The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services has announced settlements with three different Boston-area hospitals for allegedly compromising the privacy of protected health information by inviting...more
9/25/2018
/ Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Hospitals ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Settlement ,
Television Programming
The Departmental Appeals Board of the Department of Health and Human Services (“Board”) has granted summary judgment against the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (“Center”) and upheld the imposition of $4.3...more
6/20/2018
/ Appeals ,
Data Breach ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Penalties ,
Summary Judgment
The virtual world offers opportunities and obligations not found in nature.
For a couple of years, my wife has followed the adventures of a bonded eagle couple, Liberty and Freedom, residing in the hills near Hanover,...more
4/5/2018
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Information Technology ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Risk Management ,
Security Rule
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced an agreement with Catholic Health Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (CHCS), settling allegations that CHCS violated the Health...more
7/25/2016
/ Business Associates ,
Corrective Actions ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
iPhone ,
OCR ,
Penalties ,
PHI
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health and Human Services has moved forward with Phase 2 of its Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) audit program. On Monday, July 11,...more
With the news of the breach of security at Anthem health plans, many employers have been wondering whether their employees are affected and how they should respond. The breach extends to members in Anthem-affiliated plans and...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued final regulations last week that modify many aspects of the privacy and security rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and...more
1/25/2013
/ Business Associates ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Enforcement ,
Fundraisers ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HITECH Act ,
Marketing ,
Notice Requirements ,
Penalties ,
PHI