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HIPAA Compliant News Articles and Enforcement
Gulf Coast Pain Consultants Hit with $1.1 Million HIPAA Civil Monetary Penalty
HHS Office for Civil Rights imposed a $1.1 million civil monetary penalty (CMP) against Gulf Coast Pain Consultants, a Florida-based pain management practice, for widespread failures to comply with the HIPAA Security Rule. OCR’s investigation found that Gulf Coast Pain Consultants had not implemented the foundational administrative, physical, and technical safeguards required to protect electronic…
Fort Worth Doctor Sentenced to 10 Years in Health Care Fraud Conspiracy
A Fort Worth osteopath who attempted to incinerate clinic records has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in a $10 million healthcare fraud, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah. Mark Kuper, the 43-year-old owner of the Texas Center for Orthopedic and Spinal Disorders (TCOSD),…
Health Care Provider Pays $100,000 Settlement to OCR for Failing to Implement HIPAA Security Rule Requirements
The practice of Steven A. Porter, M.D., has agreed to pay $100,000 to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and to adopt a corrective action plan to settle a potential violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule. Dr. Porter’s medical…
2020 HIPAA Compliance Checklist
Regulatory compliance is a phrase that sends a shiver down the spine of even the most experienced network administrator. Ever since the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA was introduced in 1996, covered entities holding protected health information (PHI) or electronically protected health information (ePHI) have been under pressure to keep it safe. Organizations that fail to…
Study: Texas second for ransomware attacks on health care centers
In the past two years, a troubling number of ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations have affected more than 6.6 million people and cost systems millions of dollars. A study by comparitech found Texas had the second-most number of healthcare ransomware attacks in 2016-2019. During a ransomware attack, hackers break into an electronic database and hold the information…
Electronic Health Records Vendor to Pay $145 Million to Resolve Criminal and Civil Investigations
Practice Fusion Inc. Admits to Kickback Scheme Aimed at Increasing Opioid Prescriptions Practice Fusion Inc. (Practice Fusion), a San Francisco-based health information technology developer, will pay $145 million to resolve criminal and civil investigations relating to its electronic health records (EHR) software, the Department of Justice announced today. As part of the criminal resolution, Practice…
Texas Doctor Found Guilty for Role in $325 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme Involving False Diagnoses of Life-Long Diseases
A federal jury found a Texas rheumatologist guilty today for his role in a $325 million health care fraud scheme in which he falsely diagnosed patients with life-long diseases and treated them with toxic medications on the basis of that false diagnosis. Following a 25-day trial, Jorge Zamora-Quezada, M.D., 63, of Mission, Texas, was convicted…
Over 300,000 Patients Affected by Data Breaches in December 2019
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reported 34 December healthcare breaches, affecting 313,249 patients. Of the reported incidents, there were 18 breaches due to hacking/IT incidents, 10 breaches from the unauthorized access/disclosure of protected health information (PHI), 3 breaches due to loss, 2 breaches due to theft, and…
FBI Issues Alert for Increase in Maze Ransomware
Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a flash alert warning private companies in the United States about the threat of attacks involving Maze ransomware. The warning came just a few days after the FBI issued an alert about two other ransomware variants, LockerGoga and MegaCortex. The Maze ransomware TLP: Green warning is…