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
We just want to provide a friendly reminder that, before key staff depart for the holidays, HIPAA covered entities and business associates should finalize their compliance with the 2024 HIPAA amendments related to...more
It’s not immediately obvious why someone would want to disclose a health care test result as part of a job application. But one such request spurred a Pennsylvania entity to provide a lot more than that: it sent her whole...more
Effective June 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (HHS) issued a Final Rule modifying the HIPAA Privacy Rule to enhance reproductive health care privacy. This change follows the...more
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and subsequent state abortion bans, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a...more
The HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules apply to healthcare providers who engage in certain electronic transactions, healthcare clearinghouses, and health plans, including employee group health plans with...more
On March 18, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") published updated guidance on the use of online tracking technologies by HIPAA covered entities and business...more
On March 18, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued revised guidance on the use of tracking technologies by HIPAA-covered entities and business associates....more
The long-anticipated final rule addressing substance use disorder (SUD) records at 42 C.F.R. Part 2, commonly referred to as Part 2, is here. The final rule is a joint undertaking by the U.S. Department of Health and Human...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
On November 20, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement with Saint Joseph’s Medical Center for potential violations of the Health Insurance...more
On July 20, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) through the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a joint letter to hospitals and telehealth providers alerting them to...more
Regulatory enforcement and large litigation relating to the use of third party trackers on companies’ websites and applications have been on the rise. Tracking often occurs without the companies’ knowledge or consent. Third...more
On December 1, 2022, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Bulletin to highlight the obligations of HIPAA-covered entities and business associates when using...more
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which interpreted a right to abortion in the Constitution through the 14th Amendment, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil...more
On June 29, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) issued guidance on when entities...more
On December 10, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The proposed revisions to the Privacy Rule seek...more
On June 12, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued timely HIPAA guidance (Guidance) regarding solicitations of blood and plasma donations from recovered COVID-19 patients....more
In an era of decreasing reimbursement and rapidly expanding opportunities associated with “big data”, healthcare entities may be looking for ways to monetize protected health information (“PHI”) for their own, non-patient...more
Data privacy and security legislation and enforcement saw significant activity in 2018 and early 2019. McDermott’s 2018 Digital Health Year in Review: Focus on Data report – the first in a four-part series – highlights...more
On December 14, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking comments on potential modifications to the HIPAA Rules focused on...more
On June 18, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced that an HHS Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) granted summary judgment to OCR in an enforcement action...more
Privacy and security compliance obligations for health care companies remain hot topics this spring. Health care companies must now contend with data breach laws in all 50 states as well as keeping on top of federal HIPAA...more
With an increased focus on opioid use and addiction, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) has issued guidance related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of...more
Many New Year’s Resolutions focus on actions intended to save money and reduce stress. Organizations, especially those in the health care industry, should consider a resolution to review their breach notification procedures...more
There are arguments that there is a dearth of guidance by both the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), so when guidance comes out, we listen. But the most recent guidance jointly issued by the...more