Health Tech Podcast - Episode 3: HIPAA, HITECH and TCPA
The Biggest Changes in HIPAA/HITECH Omnibus Rule & Recommended Action Steps—Ted Kobus
Healthcare organizations continue to be prime targets of cyberattacks. It is well-established that cyberattacks can lead to financial loss, reputational damage, and, in some cases, risks to patient care and safety. The recent...more
On February 8, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted a final rule that aims to align 42 CFR Part 2 (Part 2) — which protects certain substance abuse disorder (SUD) records — with the Health Insurance...more
On February 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published a notice in the Federal Register regarding reinstatement of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”)...more
Updates to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Security Rule (“HIPAA Security Rule”) are planned for Spring 2024. New guidance from The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) via a recently...more
The plaintiff’s bar continues to bring new wiretapping claims over pixels and analytics programs in courts around the country, including against hospitals and other entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and...more
Last year, Congress enacted an amendment to the HITECH Act in January 2021 (“HITECH Amendment”) to require that the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) consider whether a covered entity or business associate has...more
Millions of women use reproductive health applications (or “apps”) to track menstrual cycles, ovulation, and pregnancy. These apps provide women that use the rhythm method for birth control and women seeking to become...more
Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 5 (May, 2022) - Compared to other agencies, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is a little fish in the big federal pond, but it has an outsize effect on HIPAA covered entities (CEs) and...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) has issued a formal request for information from the public about how regulated entities are implementing industry recognized security practices. The request for information...more
An amendment to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was signed into law on Jan. 5, 2021, directing U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider "recognized security practices"...more
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has been the subject of several major developments already in 2021. Healthcare providers, health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and business associates...more
On January 28, 2020, the Department of Health & Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) addressed a federal court’s January 23rd invalidation of certain provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and...more
Thanks to a federal judge, the Office for Civil Rights has modified its rules for sending records to third parties. Covered entities are no longer required by HIPAA to send non-electronic protected health information (“PHI”)...more
New guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reaffirms that business associates must have proper HIPAA compliance practices, safeguards and documentation in place...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released a notice of enforcement discretion announcing changes in how the agency will assess civil monetary penalties for violations of the Health Insurance...more
According to a recent survey of cybersecurity professionals by AT&T Cybersecurity entitled “Confidence: the perception and reality of cybersecurity threats,” phishing and cloud security threats are keeping them up at night. ...more
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Dec. 28, 2018, announced the release of the "Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices: Managing Threats and Protecting Patients" that provides a "Call to Action" to make...more
Secretary Tom Price of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced his agency needs “to focus more on the most recent breaches and clarify when entities have taken action to resolve the issues that might...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued a new guidance regarding HIPAA compliance and the use of cloud computing solutions. The guidance is intended to assist covered entities...more
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) must improve its oversight and enforcement of patient information privacy and security rules by “covered entities” and their business associates under the Health Information Portability...more
For years now lawyers and law firms providing professional services to health care providers or health insurance plans should have had in place essential safeguards to meet the responsibilities and requirements as business...more
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued two reports to Congress, as required by the HITECH Act. The compliance report details OCR’s enforcement activities for 2011 and 2012 and...more
On December 26, 2013, Adult & Pediatric Dermatology, a dermatology practice located in Massachusetts, agreed to pay a $150,000 fine after it lost an unencrypted thumb drive containing over 2,000 patients’ health records, and...more
One day after Christmas, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced that a Massachusetts-based dermatology practice (Practice) agreed to a $150,000 payment and entered into a...more
This has been a busy week for the Department of Health and Human Services / Office for Civil Rights (HHS/OCR). It has started releasing guidance on various provisions of the Omnibus HIPAA final rule (the "Final Rule") in...more