On May 6, 2024, OCR published the final rule interpreting and implementing Section 1557 at 45 C.F.R. § 92 (the Final Rule). The Final Rule regulates the use of patient care decision support tools, including AI algorithms for...more
1/24/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
OCR ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Section 1557
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on December 27, 2024, to update the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act...more
The HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy went into effect on June 24, 2024. The 2024 Final Rule strengthens privacy protections for medical records and other health information related to...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently settled two ransomware cases with covered entities. These cases signal the government's growing concern with health care...more
10/11/2024
/ Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Violations ,
OCR ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Assessment ,
Settlement
There has been a notable emphasis on proactive enforcement of the privacy and security of protected health information in recent weeks as evidenced by multiple developments regarding compliance with the Health Insurance...more
In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and the evolving legal patchwork now confronting both patients accessing reproductive health care and their health care providers,...more
On Tuesday, September 15, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), in partnership with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), released an update to the previously published...more
On April 21, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a series of announcements signaling its intention to finalize and enforce certain aspects of the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Cures Act...more
4/30/2020
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health IT ,
OIG ,
ONC ,
Patient Access ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules
There is no question that COVID-19 has brought unprecedented change to our world. The temporary relaxation of HIPAA's requirements is one of many examples of the government's efforts to address the public's health care needs...more
3/24/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach Notification Rule ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
OCR ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Waivers
On March 16 and 17, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced limited waivers of penalties and sanctions with respect to certain HIPAA requirements due to the...more
On March 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized two sets of regulations that are intended to increase patients' access to health data. As explained by HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar, "These...more
Health care providers should take heed of the $10,000 settlement announced on October 2, 2019 between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and a small dental practice based on...more
11/20/2019
/ Covered Entities ,
Dentists ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
OCR ,
Online Reviews ,
Penalties ,
PHI ,
Physicians ,
Prior Authorization ,
Settlement ,
Unauthorized Disclosure ,
Yelp
October was National Cyber Security Awareness Month and, as its parting gift, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health...more
On Friday, December 28, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released several documents, including the "Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices (HICP): Managing Threats and Protecting Patients," an...more
On the day before the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., the ONC released its draft Strategy on...more
The HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released an updated Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool this week. All covered entities and business...more
10/19/2018
/ Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Duty to Update ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
OCR ,
ONC ,
Popular ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Security Risk Assessments
On July 10, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement agreement with St. Elizabeth's Medical Center (SEMC) in Brighton, Massachusetts, regarding potential...more
7/16/2015
/ Compliance ,
Corrective Actions ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Data-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
OCR ,
Passwords ,
Settlement Agreements
On March 28, 2014, the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), in conjunction with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), released a Security Risk Assessment tool (SRA tool) to assist...more
On September 19, the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) issued guidance on the effect of the January 25, 2013 Final Rule provision about remuneration related to prescription refill reminders and medication adherence...more