Groundhog Day 2023 means two years of following a corrective action plan and a $1.25 million settlement for Banner Health Affiliated Covered Entities (Banner Health) following the announcement of a Resolution Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The settlement and resolution agreement follow an investigation of a 2016 hacking incident that exposed the [...]
In a world where hundreds of millions of tweets, posts, snaps, and stories are posted on social media daily, sharing information about our lives may seem like second nature. But for those in the healthcare industry, sharing the wrong thing could result in a HIPAA violation. Here are a few examples of how a seemingly innocent social media post can go wrong [...]
The HHS wasted no time in 2023, marking the new year with a fine announcement. On January 2, 2023, the HHS issued a press release announcing a $16,500 fine under the HIPAA right of access initiative. Life Hope Labs Slapped with HIPAA Fine In August 2021, the HHS received a complaint that Life Hope Labs failed to meet a medical records request. [...]
At first glance, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights HIPAA enforcement for the year 2022 appears to be lax. In 2022, OCR entered into 20 resolution agreements with HIPAA-covered entities, and imposed civil monetary penalties on two more. 22 cases total. The breakdown: four HIPAA Privacy Rule impermissible disclosure cases. 17 right-of-access cases (15 settlements, 2 cases [...]
Springfield, Massachusetts, is home to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - a mere 90-minute ride to Boston. Springfield is also, less famously, the headquarters of New England Dermatology, P.C., d/b/a New England Dermatology and Laser Center (“NEDLC”). This HIPAA covered entity provides treatment for skin, hair, and nail diseases, including acne, eczema, psoriasis, and rashes. In late August of 2022, [...]
On Friday afternoon, July 15, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced 11 enforcement actions against healthcare providers across the country for alleged violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule right of access provisions. Buried within the various resolutions and corrective action plans were notices of proposed determination and final determination for ACPM Podiatry Group Ltd. and [...]
Demonstrating their continued focus on right of access violations, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced 11 settlements and one HIPAA fine for medical practices across a wide variety of specialties. An examination of the specifics of each incident cites several reasons by the covered entities for not providing the requested records, including: Complete failure to [...]
A 2016 hacking incident that hit Oklahoma State University's Center for Health Sciences has led to an $875,000 HIPAA breach fine settlement to address potential violations. Background of Oklahoma State University HIPAA Breach Hackers first gained access to a web server containing the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of as many as 279,865 individuals on March 9, 2016. The information accessed included [...]
Following a winter of hibernation, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulators roared to life with the announcement of three settlements and one fine totaling more than $172,000 for violations of HIPAA’s Patient Right of Access and Privacy Rules. Each HIPAA dental fine, as well as the behavioral health fine, were issued for varying degrees of noncompliance. Monetary Penalties Assessed [...]
In January of 2022, EyeMed Vision Care LLC, a New York vision benefits provider, settled an action brought by the New York State Attorney General against it for failing to implement adequate data security measures, including multifactor authentication, password management, and logging of email accounts. These deficiencies resulted in a 2020 email data breach during which hackers accessed an EyeCare email account [...]
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