OCR Plans for Permanent HIPAA Enforcement Program Following Phase 2 Audits in 2016

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released two reports last week urging the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to retool its HIPAA enforcement efforts by the start of 2016. OIG outlined a number of inefficiencies in the current HIPAA compliance audit procedures, the most alarming of which called for the implementation of a permanent audit program. The report [...]