Relaxed HIPAA Restrictions For Providers Using Telehealth
On June 20, a federal district court in Texas ruled that the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) exceeded its authority under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act...more
On April 22, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for the United States Department of Health and Human Services issued a Final Rule amending the Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act...more
The federal agency responsible for enforcing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) – the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – recently submitted...more
The HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules generally require covered entities (including most healthcare providers) to execute written agreements (“business associate agreements” or “BAAs”) with their business associates before...more
The Right of Access Initiative by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began in 2019. On September 20, 2022, the OCR published its latest press release on the matter...more
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
Most people have heard of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), so it’s not surprising that companies dealing with digital health information will have to be HIPAA compliant. To do so, any protected...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
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
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
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Privacy 21, no. 2 (February 2021) - Unless an extension is granted or the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is withdrawn, covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs) have until late March to...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 2 (January 18, 2021) - Recovery audit contractors (RACs) may soon be auditing positron emission tomography (PET) for initial treatment strategy in oncologic conditions for compliance...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 COVID-19 outbreak has led OCR to announce that it will exercise enforcement discretion to not impose penalties for HIPAA violations against healthcare providers treating patients through some commonly used social media...more
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 3 (March 2020) - As the new coronavirus, COVID-19, spreads across the United States, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is reminding HIPAA covered entities and business associates that...more
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 2 (February 2020) - A ruling from Georgia’s highest state court could set a precedent that determines recourse for victims of cyberattacks. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled in late December...more
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