HIPPA Compliance
OCR Concludes All-Time Record Year for HIPAA Enforcement with $3 Million Cottage Health Settlement
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services concluded an all-time record year in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) enforcement activity. In 2018, OCR settled 10 cases and was granted summary judgment in a case before an Administrative Law Judge, together totaling $28.7 million from enforcement…
Read MoreFailure to Protect Health Records Costs Covered Entity Millions and Leads to Bankruptcy
21st Century Oncology, Inc. (21CO) has agreed to pay $2.3 million in lieu of potential civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and adopt a comprehensive corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and…
Read MoreChildren’s Medical Center of Dallas Pays Penalty of 3.2 Million for HIPAA and Compliance Violations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), has announced a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) civil money penalty against Children’s Medical Center of Dallas (Children’s) based on its impermissible disclosure of unsecured electronic protected health information (ePHI) and non-compliance over many years with multiple standards…
Read MoreLawsuit Highlights the Importance of Conducting Training on HIPAA Privacy Rules
On Monday this week, a case against University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC) was heard by Judge Jody Luebbers in the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court regarding the posting of Protected Health Information of a patient on social media. The incident that triggered the lawsuit concerned the posting of a patient’s medical records by a…
Read MoreHospital Employee Indicted for Stealing Personal Information of More than 12,000 Patients
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of eight individuals, including a Montefiore Medical Center employee, for stealing and using patients’ personal identifying information to make thousands of dollars in purchases at department stores and retailers in Manhattan. The defendants are charged in New York State Supreme Court with varying counts…
Read MoreFEDERAL OFFICIALS TO EXPLORE HIPAA RULES ON DATA ENCRYPTION
FEB 10, 2015 | HIPAAJOURNAL | NO COMMENT | HEALTHCARE DATA SECURITY On Friday last week, a day after Anthem Inc., announced the largest ever reported HIPAA breach, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee announced that the healthcare IT security is to be addressed and that it will “take up the matter as…
Read MoreHIPAA Enforcement to be Ramped Up
HIPAA Enforcement to be Ramped Up Healthcare Technology Trends for 2015 – HIPAA Journal The Office for Civil Rights delayed its proposed round of compliance audits last year, and while a timescale has not been provided for when they will recommence, OCR Director, Jocelyn Samuels, has promised they will be recommencing ‘expeditiously’. The OCR has…
Read MoreDentist Office Fined $12,000 for HIPAA Violations
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has issued its first fine for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violations pursuant to section 13410(e) of the HITECH Act. The fine of $12,000 was issued to former Kokomo dentist, Joseph Beck, for illegally disposing of the Protected Health Information of his patients. 63 boxes of personal records containing…
Read More