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
PIH Health, a health care entity located in California, suffered a data breach in June 2019 when 45 employee email accounts were compromised in a targeted phishing campaign. The accounts contained the protected health...more
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
Background - On March 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a settlement with Health Fitness Corporation (“Health Fitness”), a company that provides wellness...more
On March 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement of HIPAA security rule claims involving Health Fitness Corporation (Health Fitness). Health Fitness...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
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
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
On February 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a $1.5 million civil money penalty (CMP) against Warby Parker, Inc. (WP). WP is a manufacturer and online...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
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
“Almost every stage of modern healthcare relies on stable and secure computer and network technologies.” The above is a direct quote from the Office of Civil Rights for Health & Human Services (“OCR”) in its proposed...more
Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to update the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule—the...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
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
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
As the healthcare sector continues to be a top target for cyber criminals, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued proposed updates to the HIPAA Security Rule (scheduled to be published in the Federal Register January 6). It...more
2024 was a record year for cyberattacks in the healthcare sector. According to the Breach Portal maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”), to date this year, there...more
A healthcare provider delivering pain management services in Florida and other states faces a $1.19 million civil monetary penalty from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR)....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
Cyber, Privacy, and Technology Report - Welcome to your monthly rundown of all things cyber, privacy, and technology, where we highlight all the happenings you may have missed....more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently published an executive summary (Report) outlining key enforcement activities of the Health Insurance Portability and...more
Cyberattacks and data incidents are rapidly increasing, and third-party services companies are a frequent source of exposure for healthcare providers. Healthcare is a prime target for cybercriminals, with ransomware and...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 number of large data breaches, those involving 500 or more people, exposing protected health information has increased exponentially in the last few years, and ransomware and hacking are the primary cyber threats in...more