Unlocking the Vault: UnitedHealthcare’s $80,000 HIPAA Resolution Unveils Secrets of Patient Medical Records

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just made a big announcement. They've reached a settlement with UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company ("UHIC"), one of the largest health insurers in the country, regarding a potential violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule's right of access provision.  This means patients should [...]

2023-08-30T15:19:19-04:00August 24th, 2023|

11 HIPAA Right of Access Violations Brings $646,000 in Fines

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 [...]

2023-07-26T14:18:12-04:00July 18th, 2022|

HIPAA Right of Access Enforcement Continues

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced its thirteenth right of access fine, bringing the 2020 fine total to eighteen fines. The HIPAA right of access enforcement is discussed below. $36,000 Fine Issued Under HIPAA Right of Access Enforcement Peter Wrobel, M.D., P.C., also known as Elite Primary Care, has agreed to a HIPAA settlement to settle right of access violations. [...]

2023-07-31T13:56:35-04:00December 23rd, 2020|

HIPAA Right of Access Noncompliance

A recent report from Ciitizen, a patients’ rights advocacy group, has revealed more than half of healthcare providers (51%) are not fully compliant with the HIPAA Right of Access provision under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Acting with authorization from patients, Ciitizen made requests for copies of patient records from 169 medical providers. The results indicate widespread HIPAA Right of Access compliance. What is HIPAA Right of Access Noncompliance? [...]

2023-08-01T13:59:12-04:00January 14th, 2020|

HIPAA and Medical Record Copy Fees

Patients often request copies of their medical files. Traditionally, state law governed the subject of medical record copy fees. State laws typically permit providers to charge a per-page copy fee, of up to a certain dollar value, or to charge a flat fee of up to a certain amount for the entire medical record. Many covered entities simply charge the maximum amount that state law allows for medical record [...]

2023-08-24T11:48:24-04:00October 18th, 2019|