HHS Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer on Progress and News at OCR
ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
Podcast - Data Privacy and Tracking Technology Compliance
Patient Data and Privacy
2022 DSIR Deeper Dive: OCR’s Right of Access Initiative
HIPAA Tips With Williams Mullen - Telehealth After the Pandemic
Relaxed HIPAA Restrictions For Providers Using Telehealth
Webinar: Investigating and Resolving Sexual Assaults on Campus
It is no secret that protected health information (or “PHI”) is more and more at risk for cybersecurity attacks. In 2022 (the most recent year this statistic is available), the Department for Health and Human Services Office...more
On July 20, 2023, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published a joint letter sent to approximately 130 hospital systems...more
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services recently issued its Summer 2021 Cybersecurity Newsletter, which focuses on controlling access to electronic PHI (ePHI) and the HIPAA Security...more
On December 17, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued its Industry Report on the HIPAA audits it conducted in 2016 and 2017. OCR found widespread noncompliance with...more
Two recent settlements of HIPAA violations related to security breaches at a small healthcare provider and a health system highlight the continued HIPAA enforcement priorities of the Department of Health and Human Services’...more
Given the choice between credit card data and digital health records, cybercriminals prefer the latter. A stolen credit card can be canceled. Electronic protected health information (ePHI) with its treasure-trove of...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on April 2 that HHS is exercising its enforcement discretion to permit business associates to use and disclose protected health information (PHI) for public health...more
On March 3, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a $100,000 settlement and corrective action plan with Steven A. Porter, M.D. to resolve potential...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
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it has fined the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (TXHHS) $1.6 million for HIPAA violations. This is one of the few fines the OCR has levied against a state agency....more
Every year, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) jointly sponsor a conference to “address the dynamic and challenging...more
What have you done for me lately? Now that the tune is stuck in your head, specifically, have you recently conducted a thorough and up to date risk assessment in accordance with the requirements of the Health Insurance...more
On May 24, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a new fact sheet which lists the provisions of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Breach Notification, and Enforcement Rules (HIPAA)...more
In a development that may – understandably – have been overlooked by many heading into Memorial Day weekend, on May 24, 2019, the Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Fact Sheet on Direct...more
Medical Informatics Engineering, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (MIE) and the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OCR) entered into a $100,000 settlement and two-year...more
Many health care providers, including small and medium-sized physician practices, rely on a number of third party service providers to serve their patients and run their businesses. Perhaps the most important of these is a...more
Regulators provided key insights into enforcement trends and potential changes to HIPAA regulations at the 11th Annual “Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance Through HIPAA Security” conference in October...more
There is a common misunderstanding that healthcare providers may not or should not produce medical records that were created by another healthcare provider. Under HIPAA, patients have a right to access all records that a...more
The July 2018 cyber security newsletter issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reminds health care providers and their business associates of the importance of properly...more
The HIPAA Security Rule requires covered entities and business associates to implement physical, administrative, and technical safeguards to protect protected health information (PHI). The U.S. Department of Health and Human...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) recently issued guidance emphasizing the increased risks of using mobile devices in the workplace when the mobile devices contain or have...more
Energy and Critical Infrastructure Industries Warned of Increased Attacks by FBI and DHS - The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint statement on October 20, 2017 warning of an increased danger of a...more
HIPAA enforcement has been on the rise during the last several years, and the dollar impact of those settlements has continued to grow significantly. The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (OCR)...more
The use of cloud service providers has exploded in the past several years. According to estimates from Gartner, the market for cloud services is expected to reach $204 billion in 2016. But the use of cloud service providers...more
Cloud service providers that process electronic protected health information (ePHI) are business associates under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), even if the PHI is encrypted and the...more