Exposed: The Cerebral Health Breach

Wouldn’t you think a big company like Cerebral Health wouldn’t need help being HIPAA compliant? The telehealth startup specializing in mental health, says it inadvertently shared the sensitive information of over 3.1 million patients with Google, Meta, TikTok, and other third-party advertisers, as reported earlier by TechCrunch.  In a notice posted on the company's website, Cerebral admits to exposing a laundry list [...]

2023-06-02T12:17:24-04:00March 16th, 2023|

Meta Pixel Lawsuit Claims Violation of Data Privacy Rights Laws

Facebook describes its Meta Pixel feature as a snippet of JavaScript code that users can put on their website. Once Pixel is installed, it tracks what forms website visitors click on, and what options users select from dropdown menus. Recently, The Markup/STAT released a report summarizing a test it ran on the 100 top hospitals in the United States. The study found [...]

2023-04-06T13:59:03-04:00July 8th, 2022|

Iowa Man Faces Jail Time for HIPAA Violation

Can HIPAA violations result in jail time? While jail time for HIPAA violations is rare, it does occur.  An Iowa man who pleaded guilty to a pair of counts related to HIPAA violations will spend the next 27 months in federal prison following his sentencing in Des Moines. Dustin James Ortiz, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to wrongfully obtain and disclose individually [...]

2023-04-06T13:59:05-04:00July 1st, 2022|

What Happens After a HIPAA Complaint is Filed?

Even when you do the best you can to comply with HIPAA regulations, violations and breaches may occur. Clients or patients may report what they think are violations, even when they’re not. What happens after a HIPAA complaint is filed? What rights do you have as a covered entity or business associate? And what is the worst-case scenario? Common Violation Examples – [...]

2023-04-06T13:59:22-04:00April 25th, 2022|

NY AG SHIELD UP! Vision Benefits Provider Settles Email Data Breach

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 [...]

2023-04-06T13:59:54-04:00January 26th, 2022|

What’s the Civil Penalty for Unknowingly Violating HIPAA?

When a covered entity or business associate makes the HIPAA Wall of Shame for a significant breach or violation, it often results in huge fines. In some cases, the breaches and resulting fines resulted from organizations knowingly violating HIPAA regulations and just hoping they wouldn’t get caught. However, many violations and fines occur because people thought they were doing enough to be compliant. Do the regulators [...]

2023-04-10T11:19:51-04:00January 24th, 2022|

Causes and Effects of HIPAA Violations in the Dental Field

Building and maintaining a thriving dental practice is not a simple task. Between keeping your staff at peak efficiency, managing vendors, marketing your services, treating patients, and everything else in your day, it’s easy to overlook something like HIPAA compliance. Unfortunately, HIPAA violations in the dental field can create severe issues for your practice. Who Defines HIPAA Violations in the Dental Field [...]

2023-04-06T13:59:55-04:00January 21st, 2022|

Quest Diagnostics Subsidiary Hit with Data Breach Lawsuit

Quest Diagnostics subsidiary, ReproSource Fertility Diagnostics has been sued by a patient over alleged security deficiencies. The Quest data breach lawsuit was filed one month after the October 8, 2021 announcement of a ransomware attack that potentially exposed the protected health information (PHI) of 350,000 individuals. Details of the Quest Data Breach Lawsuit According to the notification provided by ReproSource, the company’s [...]

2023-04-06T14:00:29-04:00December 31st, 2021|

Hackensack Cancer Center Settles HIPAA Violations With New Jersey Attorney General

In December of 2021, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs, Office of Consumer Protection, settled a HIPAA enforcement action that it brought against Regional Cancer Care Associates (RCCA). RCCA is based in Hackensack, New Jersey, and has over 30 locations throughout New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, and the Washington DC area. RCCA treats cancer patients as well as patients with blood disorders. RCCA fell victim to [...]

2023-04-06T14:00:32-04:00December 23rd, 2021|

New Jersey State Attorney General Settles HIPAA Claims Against Printing Companies

In November of 2021, the New Jersey State Attorney General’s (AG) Office, Division of Consumer Affairs, settled 2 HIPAA claims, one HIPAA claim against Command Marketing Innovations (CMI), and another HIPAA claim against CMI’s business associate, Strategic Content Imaging, LLC (SCI). This $130,000 resolution settled each company’s potential HIPAA Security Rule and Privacy Rule violations. The printing companies were drummed into New Jersey court for having [...]

2023-04-06T14:00:34-04:00December 21st, 2021|