Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 10 (October, 2022) -
How about free?
Patients daily face the machinations of getting records from their providers, and health care practices, hospitals and even dentists struggle with...more
10/10/2022
/ Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) ,
Covered Entities ,
Dentists ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Excessive Fees ,
Health Care Providers ,
HIPAA Violations ,
Medical Records ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Settlement Agreements
Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 9 (September, 2022) -
When recommending best practices, federal privacy and security officials stress that organizations need to follow their protected health information (PHI) wherever...more
9/12/2022
/ Business Associates ,
Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Improper Disposal ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Settlement Agreements
Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 8 (August, 2022) -
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences’ (OSUCHS) breach might not have seemed all that serious at the time: No data is believed to have been misused,...more
8/16/2022
/ Breach Notification Rule ,
Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Breach Costs ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
HIPAA Violations ,
Medical Centers ,
OCR ,
Settlement Agreements
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
5/6/2022
/ Business Associates ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) ,
Covered Entities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Funding ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Violations ,
HITECH Act ,
Injunctive Relief ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws
Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 4 (April, 2022) -
By many measures, David Northcutt’s unsuccessful 2018 bid for the Alabama senate was a costly one. Northcutt, a dentist, loaned his campaign $73,000 throughout the...more
4/8/2022
/ Breach Notification Rule ,
Business Associates ,
Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) ,
Covered Entities ,
Dentists ,
Email ,
Enforcement Actions ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
HIPAA Violations ,
OCR ,
Online Reviews ,
PHI ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Political Campaigns ,
Privacy Rule ,
Security Rule
Report on Patient Privacy 21, no. 12 (December, 2021) -
Amid the letters of congratulations to new HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Director Lisa Pino is a plea from the American Hospital Association (AHA): “victims” of...more
12/10/2021
/ American Hospital Association ,
Business Associates ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Covered Entities ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
OCR ,
Popular ,
Request For Information ,
Rulemaking Process
Issue a final rule revising the privacy regulation and write guidance on the information blocking rule. Formalize the fledgling audit program required by Congress more than 10 years ago. Engage with providers and other...more
8/13/2021
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Audits ,
Biden Administration ,
Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
HIPAA Violations ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
OCR ,
Ransomware
Report on Research Compliance 18, no. 8 (August, 2021) -
NIH is continuing to face pushback and questionable actions by institutions grappling with agency-funded “superstar” principal investigators (PIs) who sexually...more
7/23/2021
/ Employee Misconduct ,
Graduate Students ,
Investigations ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
OCR ,
Peer Review ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Sanctions ,
Scientific Research ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title IX
Report on Patient Privacy 21, no. 7 (July, 2021) -
...These heartfelt comments are among those submitted to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in response to its January notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), which...more
7/9/2021
/ Caregivers ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Mental Health ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Physicians ,
Public Comment ,
Substance Abuse
Report on Patient Privacy 21, no. 5 (May 2021) -
Given the hundreds of thousands of HIPAA covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs) and the two dozen or so enforcement actions the HHS Office for Civil Rights...more
5/7/2021
/ Business Associates ,
Cooperation ,
Covered Entities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure to Notify ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Investigations ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Popular
Report on Patient Privacy 21, no. 3 (March 2021) -
Sometime during the fall, a worker for a subcontractor of Humana Inc. decided to share actual member information from medical records via a Google document with people he...more
3/25/2021
/ Business Associates ,
Business Associates Agreement (BAA) ,
Compliance ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medical Records ,
Notice Requirements ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Subcontractors
Report on Patient Privacy 21, no. 2 (February 2021) -
Unless an extension is granted or the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is withdrawn, covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs) have until late March to...more
2/26/2021
/ Business Associates ,
Comment Period ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
HIPAA Violations ,
Medical Records ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
OCR ,
Right of Access ,
Settlement Agreements
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 11 (November 2020) -
In her 14-plus years of investigating and blogging about hacking and breaches, “Dissent” has been yelled at, threatened with lawsuits and accused of being a criminal....more
11/10/2020
/ Criminal Liability ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Breach Plans ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Hackers ,
HIPAA Breach ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Ransomware
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 10 (October 2020) -
September was quite the month for enforcement actions by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The agency announced eight settlements totaling more than $10 million....more
10/16/2020
/ Business Associates ,
Compliance ,
Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
De-Identified Protected Health Information ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Settlement
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 8 (August 2020) -
Last month, leaders from Agape Health Services in rural Washington, North Carolina, were happy to share photos of the shell of a building in neighboring Plymouth, that,...more
8/10/2020
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) ,
Data Breach ,
FQHC ,
Health Care Providers ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
Laches ,
Noncompliance ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Settlement
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 7 (July 2020) -
During the first six months of this year, 228 breaches affecting 500 or more individuals were reported to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and of the top 20, five...more
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 6 (June 2020):
Being a health care provider in the midst of a pandemic is complicated enough, between offering telehealth services, perhaps for the first time, and helping workers continue...more
6/15/2020
/ Business Associates ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Data-Sharing ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 4 (April 2020)
In new guidance, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has authorized hospitals and other covered entities (CEs) that may be faced with demands from first responders and law...more
4/14/2020
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Entities ,
First Responders ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Law Enforcement ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 3 (March 2020) -
A gastroenterologist in Utah who felt he was being held captive by an electronic health record (EHR) vendor found his 2013 complaint to the HHS Office for Civil Rights...more
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 2 (February 2020) -
The year is still young, but the federal government has announced a potentially far-reaching privacy effort that should catch HIPAA compliance officers’ attention. And...more
2/12/2020
/ Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
EHR ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
NIST ,
OCR ,
OMB ,
ONC ,
Patient Access ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Public Comment
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 1 (January 2020) -
In the waning days of 2019, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) didn’t halt the HIPAA enforcement momentum it had built up during the last quarter of the year, dinging...more
1/13/2020
/ Ambulance Providers ,
Business Associates ,
Compliance ,
Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) ,
Corrective Actions ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Encryption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Security Risk Assessments ,
Settlement
Report on Research Compliance 17, no. 1 (January 2020) -
Ah, those pesky residents. If you’re a teaching hospital, you can’t live without them, right? But sometimes living with them is mighty costly, as the University of...more
12/19/2019
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Encryption ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Violations ,
Laptop Computers ,
Medical Research ,
Medical Residents ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Settlement ,
Teaching Hospitals
Report on Patient Privacy 19, no. 12 (December 2019) -
Sentara Hospitals, a nonprofit group of 12 medical centers in Virginia and North Carolina, will implement a fairly minimal two-year corrective action plan (CAP) and...more
12/5/2019
/ Billing ,
Billing Errors ,
Business Associates ,
Business Associates Agreement (BAA) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corrective Actions ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Violations ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Hospitals ,
Inadvertent Disclosure ,
Medical Records ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Settlement