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
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
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
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 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
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
Ransomware attacks are a growing threat in the health care sector due to the value of personal health information (PHI). In addition to being expensive, these attacks can cripple health care operations, delay patient care,...more
In October 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced the imposition of a civil monetary payment against Providence Medical Institute (“PMI”), a large medical...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently settled two ransomware cases with covered entities. These cases signal the government's growing concern with health care...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) imposed a $240,000 civil monetary penalty against Providence Medical Institute in connection with a ransomware attack that revealed...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
On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office For Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $950,000 settlement with Heritage Valley Health System (“Heritage Valley”) and a three-year Corrective...more
On July 1, 2024, the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Pennsylvania-based healthcare system, Heritage Valley Health System (Heritage Valley), has agreed to pay $950,000 to settle potential violations of the...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
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
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
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
Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 8 (August, 2022) - The Department of Justice (DOJ) seized around $500,000 in Bitcoin ransom paid by two health care organizations in Kansas and Colorado to North Korean ransomware actors...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
There is a glut of information out there regarding privacy and cybersecurity these days. Our new feature “What We’re Reading” provides a curated list of articles, blogs, newsletters, and books that you may find interesting...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office for Civil Rights in Action (OCR) issued a warning that cybercriminals are attempting to exploit a critical vulnerability in VMware software. This alert originates from...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