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
On October 23-24, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Technology Laboratory hosted the Safeguarding...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS"), Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") continues to be actively engaged in investigating and settling alleged HIPAA violations. In advance of Mother's Day, two decisions...more
The Right of Access Initiative by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began in 2019. On September 20, 2022, the OCR published its latest press release on the matter...more
On March 28, 2022, Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the resolution of four enforcement actions, three resolved in 2021 and one resolved in 2022. There are some interesting aspects of this...more
Our Virtual Regional Healthcare Compliance Conferences provide updates on the latest news in regulatory requirement, compliance enforcement, and strategies to develop effective compliance programs. Watch, listen, and ask...more
Report on Patient Privacy 21, no. 2 (February 2021) - Unless an extension is granted or the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is withdrawn, covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs) have until late March to...more
Health care technology has seen an incredible amount of change over the past twelve months. As health care providers and entities continue to provide patient care in unprecedented times, it is becoming increasingly important...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 2 (January 18, 2021) - Recovery audit contractors (RACs) may soon be auditing positron emission tomography (PET) for initial treatment strategy in oncologic conditions for compliance...more
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently published its findings from audits conducted in 2016 and 2017 of covered entities’ and business associates’ compliance with...more
On September 15, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced that it settled five separate investigations, each involving a patient’s right of access to his/her...more
Enforcement of the OCR’s HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (“Initiative”) is in full swing and does not look like it will abate any time soon. The Initiative aims to enforce the rights of patients to timely receive copies of...more
Thanks to a federal judge, the Office for Civil Rights has modified its rules for sending records to third parties. Covered entities are no longer required by HIPAA to send non-electronic protected health information (“PHI”)...more
On December 12, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced its second “HIPAA Right of Access Initiative” settlement of alleged HIPAA violations....more
Most health care providers are aware that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and its accompanying negotiations provide for the privacy and security of patients’ health care...more
In 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) provided a variety of guidance to address the importance of honoring the right of patients to have access to their medical information and...more
Over the past several years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has taken various steps to ensure compliance with the right of access by covered entities. The Phase 2 audits...more