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
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
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 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
On October 31, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) embraced the end of Spooky Season by announcing two more ransomware-related enforcement actions. ...more
Our Health Care and Privacy, Cyber & Data Strategy Groups cover an upcoming proposed rule from U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) that would formalize cybersecurity requirements and allow the Office for Civil Rights (OCR)...more
Unleashed on June 27, 2017, NotPetya caused an estimated $10 billion in damages globally, among the costliest ransomware attacks in history. In 2018, the Trump administration—in tandem with the British government—blamed...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced a settlement under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) with Green Ridge Behavioral Health, LLC...more
Late last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its first HIPAA settlement agreement involving a ransomware attack. In the press release announcing the settlement, HHS stated that they began...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
On December 7, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced its first-ever settlement involving a phishing attack under the Health Insurance Portability and...more
Report on Patient Privacy 23, no. 11 (November, 2023) Tim DiBona clearly remembers Christmas Eve 2018 when the staff of his small firm—Doctors’ Management Service (DMS)—arrived at their West Bridgewater, Mass., office to...more
Report on Patient Privacy 23, no. 11 (November, 2023) The American Hospital Association (AHA) is urging federal lawmakers to intervene with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) so that hospitals and health systems can...more
On Halloween, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a $100,000 settlement under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) with Doctors’...more
Privacy Briefs: June 2023 - Long-term care pharmacy network PharMerica disclosed a breach involving more than 5.8 million patients, making it the largest breach reported to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the last...more
Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Services recently paid $875,000 to settle potential HIPAA violations after a cyberattack resulted in the unauthorized access of its patients’ protected health information. A...more
Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 6 (June, 2022) - A report from the HHS Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) found that in early 2022, ransomware groups increasingly turned to legitimate software during...more
HIPAA requires covered entities and business associates to report to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) all breaches of unsecured protected health information when the incident involves fewer than 500 individuals no later than...more
CYBERSECURITY - Extortion Doesn’t Work for EA Sports Hackers - According to The Record, Electronic Arts Sports (EA) was the victim of a cyber hacking in June, when hackers posted on an underground hacking forum that they...more
On June 9, 2021, OCR distributed an update to those on its Privacy List sharing links to alerts and resources for addressing the growing number and size of ransomware incidents. One such resource included a White House memo...more
Report on Patient Privacy 18, no. 1 (January 2021) - The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) settled its 13th enforcement action in its Right of Access Initiative, first announced in 2019 to support individuals’ rights to...more
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 11 (November 2020) - In her 14-plus years of investigating and blogging about hacking and breaches, “Dissent” has been yelled at, threatened with lawsuits and accused of being a criminal....more
Health insurer Anthem, Inc. has finally reached a settlement with a coalition of 41 states plus the District of Columbia, and a separate settlement with California, to resolve state attorney general investigations of a data...more
Recent months have seen a wave of ransomware attacks in the US healthcare industry, many involving a sophisticated strain of malware called Ryuk. To protect themselves, healthcare providers should review OCR’s recent guidance...more
According to Hiscox’s Third Cyber Readiness Report, which surveyed 5,400 firms in the U.S. and the E.U., cyber threats have “become the unavoidable cost of doing business today.” The Report notes that for the first time, “a...more
Anthem, Inc., the country’s second largest insurer has agreed to pay $16 million to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) and take corrective action to settle potential violations...more