From OCR to AI The Future of Media and Image Analysis in eDiscovery
HHS Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer on Progress and News at OCR
ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
Podcast - Data Privacy and Tracking Technology Compliance
Patient Data and Privacy
2022 DSIR Deeper Dive: OCR’s Right of Access Initiative
HIPAA Tips With Williams Mullen - Telehealth After the Pandemic
Relaxed HIPAA Restrictions For Providers Using Telehealth
Webinar: Investigating and Resolving Sexual Assaults on Campus
Last year, the federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) modified the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to strengthen protections for reproductive health care information (the “2024 Rule”)....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
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
Today, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of the Office of Inspector General and Office of General Counsel, one of just a dozen or so agencies reporting directly to the secretary....more
On March 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement of HIPAA security rule claims involving Health Fitness Corporation (Health Fitness). Health Fitness...more
Starting April 3, Ohio hospitals will have to navigate new requirements under House Bill 173. This law mandates greater transparency in healthcare pricing. It also includes rules for selling or targeted advertising related to...more
2024 marked another significant year for privacy law, with new state legislation and high-stakes litigation reshaping the landscape. Legal battles over tracking technologies, biometric data, and children’s privacy...more
As wearable technology continues to evolve, smart glasses are becoming an increasingly popular accessory. While these devices offer numerous benefits, they also present unique legal challenges, particularly in California,...more
Nearly six years to the day that Warby Parker reported a breach affecting nearly 200,000 individuals, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) imposed a $1.5 million fine on the eyewear giant. Investigated by OCR under the Biden...more
The saga that led Children’s Hospital Colorado to accept a fine of more than $500,000 imposed by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) began on July 11, 2017, when a physician’s email account containing details on 3,300...more
On April 22, 2024, the Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy Final Rule. The final rule limits the sharing of protected health...more
Recent federal enforcement actions have brought home the lesson that there’s really no acceptable reason for denying a patient timely access to medical records. Last year, for example, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR)...more
On December 17, 2024, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP) published the Health Data,...more
In December 2024, the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ASTP/ONC”) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published two...more
Cyberattacks on healthcare organizations are on the rise, with the number of affected individuals nearly tripling between 2022 and 2024, according to data compiled by the Department of Health and Human Services Office for...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed significant modifications to the HIPAA Security Rule and the HITECH Act in an attempt to strengthen cybersecurity protections for electronic protected health...more
Around the corner is the Dec. 23 deadline to have your organization bring its HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices into compliance with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights Final Rule modifying...more
It’s not immediately obvious why someone would want to disclose a health care test result as part of a job application. But one such request spurred a Pennsylvania entity to provide a lot more than that: it sent her whole...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is required by law to perform periodic audits of covered entities and business associates to ensure their compliance with HIPAA Security Rule...more
In addition to holiday celebrations, the month of December typically ushers in a final round of enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR), and 2024 is no...more
Covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs) may receive a “discount” for having recognized security practices (RSPs) in place when the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) calculates financial penalties for Security...more
Change Healthcare Inc. has amended its initial breach report to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to state that 100 million individuals were impacted by its mammoth ransomware attack and breach. However, as of Oct. 24,...more
Let’s review for a moment. It’s not a HIPAA violation to be a victim of ransomware. It’s not a HIPAA violation to pay a ransom. It’s up to the covered entity (CE) to determine if a security or privacy incident is a...more
The cyber breach at Change Healthcare in 2024 stands out as one of the most significant cyber-attacks in recent memory. Its repercussions extend far beyond immediate industry disruptions, resonating deeply in regulatory...more
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has abandoned its appeal of a federal judge’s ruling overturning OCR’s guidance prohibiting covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs) from using the web-tracking technologies...more