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
Today, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of the Office of Inspector General and Office of General Counsel, one of just a dozen or so agencies reporting directly to the secretary....more
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the fifth enforcement action under its Risk Analysis Initiative. In this case, OCR reached a settlement with Health...more
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) adopted a new proposal to strengthen the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) security standards...more
Nearly six years to the day that Warby Parker reported a breach affecting nearly 200,000 individuals, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) imposed a $1.5 million fine on the eyewear giant. Investigated by OCR under the Biden...more
Eyeglass manufacturer and retailer Warby Parker recently settled a 2018 data breach investigation by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for $1.5 million. According to OCR’s press release, Warby Parker self-reported that...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently imposed a $1.5 million civil money penalty against Warby Parker, Inc., a manufacturer and online retailer of eyewear, for...more
In the final days of the Biden Administration, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the Security Rule under the Health...more
The saga that led Children’s Hospital Colorado to accept a fine of more than $500,000 imposed by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) began on July 11, 2017, when a physician’s email account containing details on 3,300...more
On December 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Security Standards for the Protection of...more
Recent federal enforcement actions have brought home the lesson that there’s really no acceptable reason for denying a patient timely access to medical records. Last year, for example, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR)...more
Recent enforcement actions, audit activity, proposed rulemakings, and guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) highlight the agency’s focus on health data...more
As Cyberattacks targeting the health care sector have continued to intensify over the past year, including ransomware attacks that have resulted in major data breaches impacting health care organizations, the protection of...more
Bradley is launching a multipart blog series on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) proposed changes to strengthen cybersecurity protections for electronic protected health information (ePHI) regulated...more
On December 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), issued proposed changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)...more
Just two weeks into the year, 2025 is already shaping up to be a busy year for privacy lawyers, especially those tasked with helping covered entities and business associates comply with the HIPAA Security Rule. As we...more
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on December 27, 2024, to update the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently proposed a sweeping rewrite of the HIPAA Security Rule that, if finalized, will require that many Covered Entities and their...more
For more than 20 years, the HIPAA Security Rule has been virtually unchanged other than extending its scope beyond covered entities to also include business associates. During that time, technology has changed, cybersecurity...more
The Biden Administration’s Office for Civil Rights delivered on its promise to propose an update to the HIPAA Security Rule. Our Health Care and Privacy, Cyber & Data Strategy groups summarize key points from the new rule and...more
Recognizing the increasing number of successful cyberattacks targeting health care organizations and their valuable patient data, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is calling for enhancements to the HIPAA audit...more
On October 2, 2024, New York adopted new regulations requiring general hospitals to implement heightened cybersecurity safeguards. General hospitals, as defined in Article 28 of the NY Public Health Law, generally must begin...more
Change Healthcare Inc. has amended its initial breach report to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to state that 100 million individuals were impacted by its mammoth ransomware attack and breach. However, as of Oct. 24,...more
On October 31, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $500,000 settlement with Plastic Surgery Associates of South Dakota (“PSA”) concerning potential...more
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
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) Director Melanie Fontes Rainer announced that OCR will resume auditing Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”)...more