By Matt Fisher – The HHS Office for Civil Rights is finishing 2024 with a flurry of HIPAA settlements and there is still more time to go. Each settlement offers a different insight into necessary compliance and oversight activities.
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By Matt Fisher – The HHS Office for Civil Rights continues to pursue enforcement actions when alleged non-compliance occurs following a right of access request. Not every settlement provides the same degree of insight or ability to follow OCR’s line of thinking though. That is the case stemming from the latest civil monetary penalty announced by OCR.
By Matt Fisher – The Office for Civil Rights announced the latest in its ongoing series of settlements or penalties stemming from individual right of access issues under HIPAA on October 17, 2024, which also happens to be the fiftieth such settlement.
By Matt Fisher – Recently the OCR announced another settlement stemming from a ransomware attack. The settlement is just the latest one imposed by OCR stemming from a cyberattack. It may feel like rubbing salt in a wound, but the details behind the settlement (at least the minimum ones available) provide a little bit more insight.
By Zac Amos – Healthcare providers and information technology teams tirelessly safeguard systems against cyberattacks and preserve patients’ privacy. De-identification, one of their best defenses, has long been a staple in the industry, as HIPAA requires.
By Matt Fisher -The so far long and tangled path for tracking technology and HIPAA in healthcare appears it will end with a whimper. It is being reported that the federal Department of Health and Human Services dropped its appeal of the decision from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas…
By Chris Emper – In December 2016, the U.S. Congress passed the 21st Century Cures Act, in part to mandate that different EHR systems, hospitals, and physician groups share patient data in compliance with new information blocking rules.
By Matthew Fisher – The Office for Civil Rights continues to dig into reports about delayed access to records by covered entities. The initial flurry of resolutions from many years ago now has not necessarily resulted in a significant change of behavior, which is frankly a bit surprising.
By Matt Fisher – The pieces to the puzzle that is the use of tracking technology in healthcare continue to accumulate. The most recent piece was a summary judgment decision from the Northern District of Texas stemming from a lawsuit filed by the American Hospital Association along with a couple of hospitals.