By Rich Curtiss – Many HIPAA covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs) may not be meeting the regulatory mandate as defined in §164.308(a)(1)(ii)(A) of the HIPAA Security Rule. This implementation specification requires that healthcare delivery organizations…
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By Matt Fisher – With the holidays quickly receding, there was some time for reflection. When given that time (and honestly spurred to some degree by the HIPAA request for information), different issues about HIPAA wandered through my mind.
By Matt Fisher – The Office for Civil Rights is now seeking comments on whether certain aspects of the HIPAA privacy and security rules should be modified. The Request for Information is purely a solicitation of comments and ideas from the public on whether or how HIPAA could be modified.
By Matt Fisher – After a slow start to the year in terms of HIPAA settlement, the OCR is trying to finish the year with a bang. Since September 20, 2018, OCR has announced four different HIPAA settlements. The nature of the conduct underlying each settlement has varied widely.
By Matt Fisher – An interesting argument was posed in a recent post on databreaches[.]net about a lack of enforcement actions from the Office for Civil Rights against small or medium-sized healthcare entities that do not appropriately report breaches to either OCR and/or the individuals impacted.
Patients expect not only quality health care to keep them healthy, but also trust that their most sensitive health information will be protected from threats and vulnerabilities that could lead to the compromise of one’s health information.
By Shane Whitlatch – It can be helpful to think of good compliance practices as preventive maintenance. It’s easier to have prepared all along than have to scramble to prove compliance when an audit comes up.
By Art Gross – On September 20, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced a fine of $999,000 for three Boston hospitals, all of which violated HIPAA while allowing ABC’s TV series “Boston Med” to film the show in their facilities.
By Art Gross – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights is planning to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking this November that could be a major game changer for HIPAA breach settlements.