The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (OCR) was busy negotiating and settling enforcement actions in November and early December. Since October 31, 2024, the OCR has settled five separate...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) recently announced its 46th settlement under its Right of Access Initiative since it was initially launched in 2019. Allegations in the recent...more
Start with a records request. Add a seven months’ wait. Stir in the chaos of the pandemic, with most employees working from home. Blend in a perhaps-neglected post office box. Bake for two-and-a-half years....more
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced two (2) different settlements, one with a HIPAA business associate for $350,000 and one with a...more
OCR’s HIPAA Right of Access Initiative shows no signs of slowing down. On July 15, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the resolution of 11 more cases at a total of...more
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has released information on its latest Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) enforcement actions. The government continues to pursue investigations and administrative...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
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced the 20th Resolution Agreement in its Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Right of Access...more
On September 10, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced the twentieth settlement of an enforcement action under its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative...more
On June 2, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the 19th Resolution Agreement in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Right of...more
On June 2, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced that the Diabetes, Endocrinology & Lipidology Center, Inc., (DELC) agreed to pay $5,000, enter into a...more
Continuing its serious march against covered entities not allowing patients access to their records, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has settled two more cases in two days in its Right of Access Initiative. This brings the...more
On March 24th and March 26th, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced it settled its respective seventeenth and eighteenth enforcement actions as part of...more
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently settled two additional enforcement actions as part of its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative, which is a program implemented by...more
A small New Jersey plastic surgery practice, Village Plastic Surgery (“VPS”), has become the eighteenth HIPAA covered entity to face an enforcement action under the Office for Civil Right’s HIPAA Right of Access Initiative....more
On February 12th, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced it settled its sixteenth enforcement action as part of its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (the...more
In the first settlement under the Biden Administration, on February 10th the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced a settlement of a fifteenth enforcement action...more
In its first enforcement action of 2021, on January 12th, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced it settled with Banner Health its fourteenth enforcement...more
On December 22, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced a settlement of a thirteenth enforcement action under its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (the...more
In 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) kept the promise it made the prior year to “vigorously enforce” the rights of patients to access and exercise control over their medical records. OCR has settled ten “right of...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 42 (November 23, 2020) - CMS said Nov. 16 that the Medicare fee-for-service improper payment rate dropped to 6.27% in FY 2020 from 7.25% last year, although CMS had to “modify”...more
On November 19, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced it had settled its 12th enforcement action in its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (the...more
The Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently announced it had settled its 10th and 11th enforcement actions in its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (the...more
Healthcare providers are generally required by HIPAA to provide patients or their legal representatives with the ability to inspect or obtain copies of their medical records within 30 days of a request (state specific...more
On October 9, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced it had settled its ninth enforcement action in its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (the...more