With states starting to issue vaccine passports, proving that a resident has been vaccinated against COVID, many have been asking, is this a HIPAA violation? To provide guidance, immunization passports and HIPAA implications are discussed. Do Vaccine Passports Violate HIPAA? There has been a lot of debate as to whether or not businesses would be in violation of HIPAA by requiring customers to provide proof of vaccination to [...]
The Florida Department of Health has come under fire for its “COVID-19 Determination of Extreme Vulnerability” form, some claiming that it is a HIPAA violation. But is Florida’s vulnerable form for COVID vaccination a HIPAA violation? What is the Vulnerable Form for COVID Vaccination? Earlier this month, the Governor of Florida, Ron Desantis, issued an executive order allowing pharmacies to provide vaccines to “extremely vulnerable” Florida residents. With [...]
With more and more remote workers in the healthcare space, PHI security should be a top concern. A recent survey determined that 44% of employees are currently working from home, with several employers expecting workers to continue to work remotely permanently. So what does this mean for cybersecurity and HIPAA compliance? To provide healthcare organizations with guidance, remote workers and HIPAA is discussed. Remote Workers and HIPAA: Data [...]
Philly Fighting COVID, a private startup company tasked with vaccine distribution for the city, is under investigation. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has ceased their relationship with the startup after allegations that the company’s privacy policies allowed for the sale of private information. More details on the alleged vaccine privacy violations are discussed. Vaccine Privacy Violations: What Do We Know? On [...]
Since the release of the COVID-19 vaccine, healthcare organizations have scrambled to provide patients with timely vaccination. With the difficulties in scheduling vaccines, some providers have turned to non-traditional appointment scheduling platforms, such as Eventbrite. In an effort to ease vaccine initiatives, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that, as of December 11, 2020, it will exercise enforcement discretion for [...]
In an effort to stave off the spread of COVID, the Trump administration is proposing changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule. More details on HIPAA and COVID contact tracing are discussed. HIPAA and COVID Contact Tracing: Proposed Changes Earlier this month the Trump administration proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, including giving patients more control over their health information and removing [...]
European Medicines Agency (EMA), a partner of Pfizer and BioNTech, reported that they were the victim of a cyberattack. EMA confirmed that their COVID vaccine data had been accessed by an unauthorized entity, but there is no evidence of data corruption. More details on the European Medicines Agency COVID vaccine data hack is discussed. What Does the European Medicines Agency COVID Vaccine Data Hack Mean? [...]
During the coronavirus public health emergency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) temporarily expanded telehealth reimbursement. However, as these temporary measures are set to expire once the public health emergency (PHE) has passed, there have been pleas for permanent expanded access. It was announced earlier this month that Congress has made CMS telehealth expansion permanent for beneficiaries in rural areas. More details are discussed below. CMS Telehealth [...]
A recent federal lawsuit in Virginia illustrates both how far an employer can go in asking employees about COVID-19 diagnosis, as well as how far HIPAA law prevents such inquiries. In this case, the plaintiff, because of an incorrect belief about what constitutes a crime under HIPAA, lost his job. Is violating HIPAA a crime? Yes, but only in narrow circumstances. Is Violating HIPAA a Crime: The Lawsuit [...]
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have struggled to come up with plans on how they can safely reopen. This has been of particular concern in the customer service and hospitality industries, as the nature of their business requires them to frequently meet with customers in person. What many businesses thought to be a reasonable request, asking customers to wear masks, has been a topic [...]
