On January 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice (the OCR Notice) regarding individuals’ right of access to health records in response to a January 23, 2020 court ruling in the Ciox Health, LLC v. Azar, et al., No. 18-cv-0040 (D.D.C. Jan. 23, 2020) … Continue Reading
Computer hacking, and the permutation of crimes that can be committed by hackers, generally does not spur images of infliction of physical harm. However, in a chilling turn of events, computer hackers have opened a new front in the damage that can be inflicted through cybercrime. In a nefarious series of developments, cyber-liabilities now arise … Continue Reading
In May of 2018, the European Union enacted the General Data Protection Rules, or GDPR, a legal framework that outlines not only how companies may collect and process personal information of EU residents, but how that data is stored and used. Since its enactment, GDPR has triggered a global push towards compliance with those standards. … Continue Reading
The latest HIPAA resolution agreement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is a reminder that healthcare providers must take the high road when responding to unflattering online reviews by patients. While it is tempting to respond to a bad and perhaps untrue online review, healthcare providers need … Continue Reading
Until recently, the annual limit for civil monetary penalties (CMP) that could be levied against covered entities and business associates in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, and their implementing regulations, as amended from time to time … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced his state had entered into a settlement with CoPilot Provider Support Services, Inc. (CoPilot)—a settlement resulting from CoPilot’s violation of the data breach notification requirements of the New York General Business Law (GBL) that requires companies, among other things, to provide notice of a breach … Continue Reading
As has been widely reported, on May 12, 2017, organizations around the world, including Britain’s National Health Service, found their data held hostage by actors using a new variant of ransomware called WannaCry. According to news reports, 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries have been hit by the cyberattack which appears to be spread … Continue Reading
April proved to be a busy month for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) under its newly appointed director, Roger Severino. OCR announced three settlements of potential HIPAA violations totaling nearly $3,000,000.00 in fines. The settling parties include a wireless health services provider, a federally-qualified health center (FQHC), and … Continue Reading
Children’s Medical Center of Dallas (Children’s) was hit with a $3.2 million civil penalty from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for failing to take steps to properly protect patient medical information. The civil penalty is the result of two data breaches caused by a lack of encryption … Continue Reading
Covered Entities and Business Associates may be ringing in the New Year with the prospect of responding to on-site HIPAA audits by federal regulators. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced that a certain number of comprehensive on-site HIPAA compliance reviews will be done over the first … Continue Reading
As the threat of cyberattacks continues to pose daily threats to businesses large and small, more companies have turned to cyber insurance products to shore up protection against these disruptive threats. A spate of recent incidents has highlighted the importance of taking steps to prepare for and mitigate possible damages. As such, healthcare entities have … Continue Reading
As the East Coast prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Matthew, covered entities and business associates should take the opportunity to remind their workforce members to safeguard protected health information (PHI) that is in paper form. Certainly, HIPAA requires covered entities and business associates to protect and secure PHI at all times. However, healthcare providers that … Continue Reading
The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on August 4, 2016, a settlement agreement with Advocate Health Care Network, an integrated healthcare system with ten hospitals and a non-profit medical group of more than 1,500 physicians in Illinois (the System or Advocate). The System agreed to adopt a corrective … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released its much-anticipated guidance on ransomware (OCR Ransomware Guidance) this week in response to a number of highly publicized attacks targeting the healthcare sector. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts data, making it inaccessible until the data owner … Continue Reading
Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the first HIPAA settlement involving a business associate. Catholic Health Care Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (CHCS), a nonprofit organization that provides management and information technology services to six wholly-owned skilled nursing facilities, agreed to pay $650,000 and enter … Continue Reading
A New York hospital has settled with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) for $2.2 million after allowing a TV crew for the ABC documentary series “NY Med” to film patients receiving medical treatment without obtaining prior authorization from the patients or their representatives. The estate of one … Continue Reading
A group practice that was the victim of a silver-harvesting scam has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) $750,000 to settle charges that it released protected health information (“PHI”) of its patients to a third party vendor without first obtaining a written business associate agreement. Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic, P.A. … Continue Reading
Last week, a federal court in Illinois encountered another example of unexpected events causing problematic privacy and data storage implications for a healthcare company. The non-profit organization responsible for maintaining the MetroChicago Health Information Exchange (the HIE) filed suit against its information technology support contractor and the contractor’s owner to prevent the contractor’s plan to … Continue Reading
Just in time for the Phase 2 audits, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) quietly posted the updated HIPAA Audit Protocol on its website. The new audit protocol has been updated to include business associates who became subject to HIPAA following the 2013 HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule. The protocol … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced that it has started obtaining and verifying entity contact information to identify covered entities and business associates for potential audit subject pools for the 2016 Phase 2 HIPAA Audit Program. In Phase 2, OCR will review the policies and procedures … Continue Reading
On February 25, 2016, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released a set of FAQs directed at healthcare providers and plans that are required to comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule (the Privacy Rule). The guidance emphasizes that any fees charged for access to or copies of patient information must be “reasonable and cost-based” and … Continue Reading
On January 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule that modifies the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. This modification expressly allows certain covered entities to disclose to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), without consent, the identities of individuals … Continue Reading
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for guidance on medical devices, has acknowledged that certain devices are susceptible to breaches. The FDA has identified cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices that could allow unauthorized users to not only access patient information, but also to control the device. The FDA’s oversight comes at … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) kicked off the holiday season by publishing a settlement agreement under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) relating to the theft of an unencrypted laptop from a hospital. Lahey Hospital and Medical Center (Lahey), a nonprofit teaching hospital … Continue Reading
