The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced another settlement for alleged violations of HIPAA. OCR investigated BayCare Health System, which serves central Florida, after a...more
A single incident that may have started as a personal vendetta or an extortion threat seven years ago has cost a Florida health care system $800,000, and comes on the heels of an unrelated breach suffered by a different...more
On November 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $90,000 settlement with Bryan County Ambulance Authority (“BCAA”), a provider of emergency medical...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
Unleashed on June 27, 2017, NotPetya caused an estimated $10 billion in damages globally, among the costliest ransomware attacks in history. In 2018, the Trump administration—in tandem with the British government—blamed...more
On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office For Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $950,000 settlement with Heritage Valley Health System (“Heritage Valley”) and a three-year Corrective...more
Don’t miss our annual conference devoted to higher education and research compliance - Attend the Higher Education & Healthcare Research Compliance Conference June 10–12, 2024 and hear from experienced professionals on a...more
On February 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued two reports to Congress as required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health...more
If the penultimate enforcement settlement of 2023 issued by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sounds familiar, that’s with good reason. And the last one of the year should ring some bells, too....more
In late October, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reached a settlement agreement with a medical management company based in Massachusetts over alleged HIPAA violations. Under the settlement terms, the...more
2023 marked 20 years since the first compliance deadline under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (“HIPAA”) privacy rule. Despite the two decades of experience with HIPAA, compliance continues to remain...more
On November 20, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced an $80,000 HIPAA settlement with Saint Joseph’s Medical Center (“SJMC”) in New York State. The...more
Report on Patient Privacy 23, no. 12 (December, 2023) Spring 2020 was a terrifying period in the annals of COVID-19, and New York was at the epicenter. COVID-19 cases, and deaths, already the highest in the nation, were...more
Report on Patient Privacy 23, no. 11 (November, 2023) Tim DiBona clearly remembers Christmas Eve 2018 when the staff of his small firm—Doctors’ Management Service (DMS)—arrived at their West Bridgewater, Mass., office to...more
A recent settlement entered into by the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan serves as a stark warning to all entities and business associates subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act:...more
Summer is in full swing, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) is doing anything but taking a vacation from HIPAA. In May and June, OCR issued five resolution agreements...more
On June 28, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement (resolution agreement and corrective action plan) with iHealth Solutions (also known as Advantum Health)...more
On April 26, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a fact sheet on Hospital Price Transparency Enforcement Updates (the “Fact Sheet”) under the Hospital Price Transparency Rule (the “Rule”)....more
Unhappy consumers, including patients, are free to express dissatisfaction with services they receive from providers on popular social media or online review platforms, such as Yelp and Google. At least in the healthcare...more
On February 2, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reached a settlement with Banner Health Affiliated Covered Entities (“Banner Health”) for a 2016 data breach that...more
As illustrated by a recent Office for Civil Rights (OCR) settlement with a dental practice, health care entities continue to struggle with how to respond to negative online reviews while maintaining compliance with the HIPAA...more
Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 10 (October, 2022) - How about free? Patients daily face the machinations of getting records from their providers, and health care practices, hospitals and even dentists struggle with...more
After a long stretch of breach enforcement actions and settlements arising out of alleged technology gaps, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it settled a case...more
Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 9 (September, 2022) - When recommending best practices, federal privacy and security officials stress that organizations need to follow their protected health information (PHI) wherever...more
On August 23, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Massachusetts-based New England Dermatology, P.C., d/b/a New England Dermatology and Laser Center (NEDLC), agreed to...more