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
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
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
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
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
In a flurry of recent activity, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced eight resolution agreements since September 15, 2020. These resolution agreements settle...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
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
On December 12, 2019, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced its second enforcement action this year related to an individual’s right to access his/her protected health information (PHI). Korunda Medical, LLC (Korunda)...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 28, no. 44 (December 16, 2019) - ? Korunda Medical LLC, a Florida-based company that provides primary care and interventional pain management, has agreed to pay $85,000 to settle a potential...more
Compliance Today (November 2019) - On September 9, 2019, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its first enforcement action and settlement in its Right of Access...more