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
Following the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recent publication of four settlements as part of a new Risk Analysis Audit Initiative. We explore the current regulatory language for Risk Analysis, the proposed language for Risk...more
Welcome to your monthly rundown of all things cyber, privacy, and technology, where we highlight all the happenings you may have missed. ...more
Arecent report put the odds of an asteroid hitting the earth in December 2032 at 3.1%—which is 3,100 times more likely than an organization resolving an enforcement action with the U.S. Department of Health and Human...more
With 2025 barely three weeks old, the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has already announced six enforcement actions for the new year. Particularly significant is the advancement 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
The Indiana Attorney General Office (OAG) filed a detailed complaint on December 23, 2024 (Complaint) which arose out of the following patient complaint: The OAG received a consumer complaint stating that the consumer had...more
Last fall at the Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance Through HIPAA Security 2024 conference, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) promised that before year’s end, it would...more
On November 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $90,000 settlement with Bryan County Ambulance Authority (“BCAA”), a provider of emergency medical...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
Before this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) resolved 70 breach investigations from which fines or civil monetary penalties were secured. Of those investigations, only...more
Let’s review for a moment. It’s not a HIPAA violation to be a victim of ransomware. It’s not a HIPAA violation to pay a ransom. It’s up to the covered entity (CE) to determine if a security or privacy incident is a...more
In late September 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a settlement with Cascade Eye and Skin Centers, P.C., a health care provider in the state of...more
The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (OCR) announced on September 26, 2024, that it had entered a settlement with Cascade Eye and Skin Centers (together, Cascade) for $250,000 following...more
The cyber breach at Change Healthcare in 2024 stands out as one of the most significant cyber-attacks in recent memory. Its repercussions extend far beyond immediate industry disruptions, resonating deeply in regulatory...more
Announcing its fourth ransomware cybersecurity investigation and settlement, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) also observed there has been a 264% increase in large ransomware breaches since 2018....more
On July 19, Change Healthcare Ince. filed a breach report with HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) concerning its mammoth ransomware attack and breach. The organization’s breach report to OCR identifies just 500 individuals as...more
On July 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Heritage Valley Health System, a provider in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, agreed to pay $950,000 to resolve...more
We are pleased to announce that several of the firm’s practice groups and attorneys were recognized in the 2024 edition of Chambers USA, a directory of leading law firms and attorneys. Chambers and Partners annually...more
Principal Liz Heddleston was recently interviewed by HCPro for a story published on April 8, 2024, discussing the rising threat of ransomware attacks for healthcare providers. The story highlights lessons learned from a...more
On February 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued two reports to Congress as required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health...more
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
The healthcare sector is particularly vulnerable to cybersecurity risks and the stakes for patient care and safety are particularly high. Healthcare facilities are attractive targets for cyber criminals in light of their...more
With a couple of “firsts,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is signaling that it is cracking down on healthcare organizations that fail to identify and address cybersecurity...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") Office of Civil Rights ("OCR") has entered into its first settlement of potential Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") violations arising out...more
On Oct. 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced it had settled with Doctors’ Management Services Inc. (DMS) over a self-reported ransomware attack that occurred in...more