On the newly installed Trump Administration's first day, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded the Biden Administration's guidelines for immigration enforcement actions in or near protected areas, such as...more
1/29/2025
/ Churches ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Privacy Laws ,
Protected Activity ,
Public Schools
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that strengthens the Security Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which, if...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued an unpublished Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that strengthens the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule and, if...more
1/2/2025
/ Business Associates ,
Comment Period ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
NPRM ,
OCR
The finalization of information blocking exceptions were announced just in the "St. Nick" of time by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP), formerly known as...more
Access to quality healthcare services has long been a priority of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) this agency has, since at least 2001, sought to provide...more
12/18/2024
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Age Discrimination ,
Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Data-Sharing ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
OCR ,
Patient Access ,
PHI ,
Private Right of Action ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Title IV ,
Title IX
In addition to holiday celebrations, the month of December typically ushers in a final round of enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR), and 2024 is no...more
12/4/2024
/ Business Associates ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
NIST ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Privacy Laws ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Security and Privacy Controls
President Ronald Reagan famously quipped, "I think you all know that I've always felt that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help."1 At an Oct. 23-24, 2024,...more
10/31/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Covered Entities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Internet of Things ,
Medical Devices ,
NIST ,
OCR ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Security and Privacy Controls ,
Technical Conference
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continued its commitment to timely and full access to health records on June 24, 2024, through the finalization of its information blocking disincentives rule for...more
6/28/2024
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
ACOs ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Data Blocking ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HITECH Act ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
OIG ,
ONC ,
PHI ,
Secretary of HHS
A recent federal court decision is a victory for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) covered entities using third-party tracking tools on unauthenticated webpages. These are websites available to the...more
6/26/2024
/ American Hospital Association et al v Becerra Secretary Of Health And Human Services et al ,
Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Judgment ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
IP Addresses ,
Judicial Review ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Warning Letters ,
Web Tracking ,
Websites
After months of uncertainty and multiple letters from industry associations advocating on behalf of the healthcare industry with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR), covered...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has, as part of its mandate, the responsibility to enforce the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule....more
5/14/2024
/ Audits ,
Business Associates ,
Compliance ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
HITECH Act ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Assessment ,
Web Tracking
In the midst of an industry reeling from the Change Healthcare cybersecurity incident, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued a series of final rules requiring...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued updated guidance on March 18, 2024 regarding the use of online tracking technologies by entities and business associates covered by the...more
3/19/2024
/ Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Tracking Systems ,
Web Tracking ,
Websites
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) published its Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates,...more
3/13/2024
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Data-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
EHR ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Exclusions ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
ONC ,
Reporting Requirements
After more than a year since the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued the proposed changes to the...more
2/26/2024
/ CARES Act ,
Civil Liability ,
Compliance ,
Confidential Information ,
Consent ,
Criminal Liability ,
Effective Date ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach Notification Rule ,
HITECH Act ,
Mental Health ,
Notice Requirements ,
OCR ,
ONC ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Safe Harbors ,
SAMHSA ,
Substance Abuse
Two divisions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) – released the "21st Century Cures Act:...more
11/1/2023
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
ACOs ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Health Record Incentives ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Medicare ,
ONC ,
Proposed Rules
In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," HIPAA and healthcare privacy attorneys Beth Pitman and Shannon Hartsfield dissect the highly publicized Dinerstein v. Google case. They address the implications and concerns of sharing...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently posted the final rule establishing civil monetary penalties (CMPs) for information blocking (IB Enforcement Rule). The Rule...more
7/18/2023
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Fraud Abuse and Waste ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Technology ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Information Technology ,
OIG ,
ONC
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) on April 11, 2023, released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making called the Health Data,...more
4/28/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Technology ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Machine Learning ,
NPRM ,
ONC ,
PHI ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (Proposed Rule) on April 12, 2023, proposing amendments to the Health Insurance Portability and...more
4/17/2023
/ Business Associates ,
Comment Period ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
EMTALA ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Mobile Health Apps ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues