Recently issued guidance from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) addresses frequently asked questions about the application of the agency’s Safeguards Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 314.1 et seq., to new car dealers since the 2023...more
Explained in more detail below, under the recent vacatur of most of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy (the “Reproductive Health Rule”): • The broad prohibitions on disclosing protected...more
A federal judge in Texas just tossed out Biden-era reproductive healthcare privacy protections, halting a 2024 final rule with nationwide effect. The rule, which largely took effect in December and created new HIPAA privacy...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
Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) generally provides access to records created by public agencies (including school districts). However, the FOIA contains an exemption from disclosure for “educational records”...more
On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a final rule (the “Final Rule”) along with guidance updating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) regulations at...more
On April 22, 2024, the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a final rule enhancing privacy protections relating to reproductive health care. Specifically, the final rule...more
In a first-of-its-kind decision, R. v. Bykovets, 2024 SCC 6 (Bykovets), the Supreme Court of Canada has adopted a broad view of internet privacy—at least in the criminal and public authority context—finding that internet...more
On Friday, October 27, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced new amendments to the Safeguards Rule, requiring covered financial institutions to report certain data breaches to the FTC and reflecting its continuing...more
Many HIPAA covered entities and business associates struggle with developing and implementing a sanctions policy. What should it say, is zero-tolerance required, do we have to impose discipline in every case, etc. These are...more
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an exciting new frontier that is becoming more readily accessible to the public. As governments grapple with the right approach to regulating AI, legal risks are already present, including...more
The CFPB took the first step last week to put into place a comprehensive privacy rule that would significantly impact how consumers can manage their financial data. Just envision a world where you can take all of your...more
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) was a bi-partisan regulation passed by Congress in 1999 in an attempt to update and modernize the financial industry. One component of the GLBA, its Safeguards Rule, requires financial...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), on a split party vote on August 11, approved an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the Notice) that focuses on potential new rules and requirements that could apply to entities engaged...more
Looking for updates on government initiatives related to physicians, clinics, and physician integrity trends? Join us this October for HCCA’s Virtual Clinical Practice Compliance Conference and get insights, updates, and...more
Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 4 (April, 2022) - By many measures, David Northcutt’s unsuccessful 2018 bid for the Alabama senate was a costly one. Northcutt, a dentist, loaned his campaign $73,000 throughout the...more
On October 27, 2021, the FTC announced that it intends to publish (1) a final rule to amend the Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information (Safeguards Rule); (2) a supplemental notice and request for public comment on...more
HIPAA privacy rules do not prevent employers and businesses from asking employees and visitors about their COVID-19 vaccination status, the government recently reiterated. In guidance issued on September 30, 2021, the U.S....more
On September 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR)issued guidance to help the public understand when the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996...more
Get the latest updates on government initiatives related to physicians and clinics - HCCA’s Clinical Practice Compliance Conference provides insights, updates, and strategies that are pertinent to developing and managing...more
Purpose and Background of the GLBA - The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”), also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, is a federal statute enacted by Congress in 1999 that requires financial...more
Many relief programs have been implemented over the past year in response to COVID-19, and keeping up with the changing requirements for these programs can be daunting. A new twist in the requirements is the mandate for...more
Nearly 20 years to the day after the first HIPAA privacy regulations were announced, HHS has posted proposed revisions to HIPAA, evidence that even after twenty years, HIPAA privacy remains a work in progress. These proposed...more
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic visited on America in the past several months has quickly reinvigorated the foundational and important debate concerning where, in a free society, individual autonomy ends (or should end) and...more
On February 25th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its annual Privacy and Data Security Update, which highlights the FTC’s activities during the past year....more