Malware Costs UMass $650k in HIPAA Violations
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a $650,000 settlement with the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) in the wake of potential HIPAA [...]
The 5 Most Landmark OCR Settlements in 20 Years of HIPAA
When HIPAA was first enacted in 1996, few people could have anticipated the shock waves that this landmark regulation would send across the healthcare industry. The [...]
New HIPAA Guidance on Ransomware Attacks and ePHI Security
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has released new HIPAA guidance about how HIPAA-beholden entities can better equip themselves to deal with [...]
$2.7 Million HIPAA Settlement Reached with OHSU After Repeated HIPAA Violations
Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) has reached a settlement with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for $2.7 [...]
Practice Fusion HIPAA FTC Settlement a “Sign of Things to Come” for HIPAA-Beholden EHR Vendors
On June 8th, 2016 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with Practice Fusion, Inc. The EHR vendor was charged with illegally disclosing consumers' protected [...]
Criminal HIPAA Charges for Respiratory Therapist
A former respiratory therapist was convicted of wrongly accessing individually identifiable health information by a federal jury on June 23 of this year. The charges claimed that the therapist [...]
HIPAA Compliance Audits Prioritized in 2017 Fiscal Budget
Earlier this year, the Obama administration submitted its budget proposal for fiscal-year 2017. The OCR Budget in Brief details the increased budget--$1.15 trillion of which is allotted for the Department [...]
Congress to Establish Chief Information Security Officer Within HHS
A bill to establish an Office of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was introduced in the [...]
OCR Releases New HIPAA Audit Protocol and Business Associate Listing Template
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) just released an updated HIPAA Audit Protocol that it plans to use while investigating healthcare entities [...]
The Audits Are Coming! The Audits Are Coming!
OCR Phase 2 Audits Have Begun As of March 22, 2016, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has officially begun their Phase 2 [...]
