In October, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) fined Providence Medical Institute (PMI) $240,000, an amount that reflected a 20% discount for having “recognized security practices” (RSPs) in place. But many more covered...more
With the onslaught of new privacy, AI and cyber legislation coupled with promises for enforcement and class action litigation, running a well-functioning and flexible privacy and cyber program is increasingly a critical...more
On December 27, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) related to the Security Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). ...more
Americans hear about cybersecurity incidents on a frequent basis. As the adage goes, it is not a matter of “if” a breach or security hack occurs; it is a matter of “when.”...more
More than two months after the February 2024 Change Healthcare cyber-ransom attack, the healthcare industry continues to grapple with the fallout, creating significant challenges, disruptions, and outages to the healthcare...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently published an executive summary (Report) outlining key enforcement activities of the Health Insurance Portability and...more
As of January 1, 2020, California became the first state to permit residents whose personal information is exposed in a data breach to seek statutory damages between $100-$750 per incident, even in the absence of any actual...more
Effective October 23, 2019 for changes in data breach notification requirements, and March 21, 2020 for new data security requirements, New York’s “Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act” (SHIELD Act) broadens...more
Privacy and cybersecurity is at the forefront of everyone’s mind these days and, in 2018, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) settled ten cases and prevailed in another before an Administrative Law Judge to the tune of...more
North Carolina joined Attorneys General from a dozen states in suing Indiana based Medical Informatics Engineering (MIE) and affiliates. The complaint alleges that the companies failed to undertake reasonable measures to...more
More than three years ago, Anthem, Inc. reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that it suffered a cyber attack compromising the protected health information of nearly 79...more
The May 2018 cyber security newsletter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) focused on a topic often overlooked by covered entities and their business associates: physical...more
In September, 2015, OCR and HHS issued a press release announcing a Resolution Agreement with the Cancer Care Group, P.C., which included entry into the agreement, the adoption of a robust compliance plan, and the payment of...more
Lawyers and compliance professionals constantly tout the importance of internal information security policies, particularly in light of data privacy problems that are reported almost daily in the media. Admittedly, drafting...more
On September 2, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a substantial settlement with an Indiana-based oncology group, Cancer Care Group, P.C. (CCG). Under the terms of...more