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 [...]
Six Risk Assessments Fail to Prevent $2.7 Million HIPAA Settlement
Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) reached a settlement with OCR earlier in July for $2.7 million. The organization had executed six risk analysis over the course of 10 [...]
Business Associate Mishandles PHI in $650,000 HIPAA Settlement
Catholic Health Care Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (CHCS) has agreed to pay a $650,000 settlement with corrective action plan for violations of the HIPAA Security Rule. This [...]
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 [...]
Phase 2 HIPAA Compliance Audits to Target Behavioral Health Specialists
Earlier in 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released new guidance to support their recently implemented Phase 2 HIPAA Compliance Audits. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
New York Presbyterian Hospital Hit with $2.2 Million OCR Settlement for “Egregious Disclosure” of PHI
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced today that New York Presbyterian Hospital would be required to pay a [...]
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 [...]
