HIPAA Compliance

Office for Civil Rights deputy director of health information privacy, Deven McGraw, has provided an update on the OCR’s planned HIPAA compliance audits, saying the revised protocol for the long-awaited second round of compliance audits will be published next month. Late last year, OCR Director Jocelyn Samuels announced that the next round of audits would…

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) covers healthcare providers, health insurers, and healthcare clearinghouses, and all covered entities are required to comply with HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. HIPAA also applies to vendors and other companies doing business with covered entities, which are classed as HIPAA Business Associates (BAs). If a…

Triple-S Management Corporation (“TRIPLE-S”), on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Triple-S Salud Inc., Triple-C Inc. and Triple-S Advantage Inc. , formerly known as American Health Medicare Inc.,  has agreed to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules with the U.S. Department of Health…

Take a look at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights website and you will discover relatively few financial penalties have been issued for HIPAA Privacy violations. Even apparently serious violations of HIPAA Rules have not always resulted in financial penalties being issued. Out of the thousands of data breaches listed…

The number of successful cyber attacks spiked in March, with 11 incidents reported to the Office for Civil Rights, although since HIPAA-covered entities have up to 60 days from the discovery of a data breach until a breach notification must be submitted, that figure may yet rise. In February, there were 4 reported hacking incidents…

Law firm, Day Pitney LLP, has issued a warning to healthcare professionals to be cautious about disclosing Protected Health Information, even when asked to provide medical records to attorneys under subpoena. A Connecticut Supreme Court ruling in November 2014 permitted a negligence claim to be filed against a healthcare provider for non-compliance with HIPAA Rules…

In the aftermath of a major HIPAA breach, the spotlight is shined on healthcare providers and insurers’ and they investigated to determine whether the breach was preventable, and if it was caused by violations of HIPAA regulations.In the case of Premera, hackers were able to infiltrate the insurer’s computer network and gain free access to…

HIPAA Compliance Checklist Ensure You Comply with the HIPAA Regulations If your organization has access to electronic protected health information (ePHI), it is recommended that you review our HIPAA compliance checklist to ensure that you comply with all the HIPAA regulations for the security and privacy of confidential patient data. Failure to comply with the…

10 Years of Abortion Records Found In Houston Warehouse – HIPAA Journal According to a recent report on Houston Radio station, KTRH, the medical records of hundreds – and potentially thousands – of women that attended an unspecified Houston abortion clinic have been discovered in a warehouse in the city. The records were discovered by…

Amedisys Hospice to be Investigated for Potential HIPAA Violation – HIPAA Journal The discovery of documents containing the Protected Health Information of 17 patients of Amedisys Hospice, Tennessee has triggered an investigation over the potential HIPAA violation. Earlier this week, Sandra Rambo was walking with her daughter when she came across paperwork on the side…