In accordance with the Inflation Adjustment Act, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has updated its regulations to reflect required annual inflation-related increases to civil monetary penalties, including those for certain violations of HIPAA’s “administrative simplification” provisions. The final regulations became effective on November 5, 2019, the date they were published in the … Continue Reading
A reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer discovered that sensitive data of hepatitis patients were accessible online through a Philadelphia Department of Public Health (DPH) website tool without the need for a password. The Inquirer was able to access the data of some 23,000 patients who had contracted Hepatitis C. The vulnerable data included the patient’s … Continue Reading
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on October 23, 2019, that Jackson Health System (Jackson), a not-for-profit hospital system comprised of six hospitals, urgent care centers, nursing facilities, and primary care and specialty services based in Miami, Florida, has waived its right to a hearing and did not contest the findings set forth in … Continue Reading
Elite Dental Associates (Elite), located in Dallas, Texas has agreed to settle alleged HIPAA violations with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for $10,000. The OCR alleged that it received a complaint from a patient in June of 2016 that Elite had disclosed the patient’s last name and details of the patient’s health condition on … Continue Reading
On the heels of an FDA committee report concerning cybersecurity issues with medical devices [view related post] the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert regarding cybersecurity vulnerabilities, referred to as “URGENT/11,” that could introduce risks for some medical devices and hospital networks. According to the FDA’s October 1st notice, the URGENT/11 vulnerabilities … Continue Reading
Consistent with our experience, security firm McAfee has confirmed in a report that ransomware attacks have doubled in 2019. Medical providers have been hit hard this year, and one provider, Wood Ranch Medical, located in California, is permanently closing following a ransomware attack. Wood Ranch was hit with a ransomware attack over the summer, and … Continue Reading
Everyone knows how I feel about those home genetic testing kits—most people don’t understand that when they send their DNA to a private company that it is not protected by HIPAA or any other law, and the company can legally use and disclose it, including selling it to other companies. Understand what companies are doing … Continue Reading
On September 9, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it had settled its first ever HIPAA enforcement action arising from alleged violations of the individual right to access health information under HIPAA. OCR entered into a settlement with Bayfront Health St. Petersburg (Bayfront) in response … Continue Reading
On August 26, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to “better align” its substance use disorder (SUD) confidentiality regulations at 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (Part 2) with the needs of providers and patients, and to “facilitate the provision of well-coordinated … Continue Reading
As readers of this blog know, data breaches in the health care industry are all too common. Healthcare organizations are an attractive target for hackers because of the nature and amount of personal information that they possess. Therefore, it is perhaps not surprising that healthcare organizations have the highest costs associated with data breaches. They … Continue Reading
Following an investigation led by the Washington Attorney General, Premera Blue Cross has agreed to pay $10 million to 30 states after experiencing a data breach in 2014 that compromised the Protected Health Information of over 10 million individuals. $5.4 million of the settlement amount will be paid to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office … Continue Reading
When you next lie down to sleep, the bed may not your secrets keep. So-called “smart” beds, mattress pads, sleep apps, and fitness trackers with sleep options are collecting data on those who use them and sending that personal information back to manufacturers. The data gathered can include biometric information (i.e., heart rate, respiration), sleep … Continue Reading
Although many thought that WannaCry was in the rear view mirror, a recent report by Artemis, based on client experience, found that health care organizations and manufacturing companies are still being hit with the ransomware that affected hundreds of thousands of machines in 2017. According to the report, 40 percent of Artemis’ health care clients … Continue Reading
In a development that may – understandably – have been overlooked by many heading into Memorial Day weekend, on May 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Fact Sheet on Direct Liability of Business Associates under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). … Continue Reading
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), the enforcement arm of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), announced that a Tennessee diagnostic medical imaging services company has agreed to pay $3 million to settle potential HIPAA violations arising from a data breach that exposed over 300,000 patients’ protected health information. As part of the … Continue Reading
On April 26, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Notification of Enforcement Discretion (Notice) regarding imposition of Civil Money Penalties (CMPs) under HIPAA. In the Notice, HHS announces that it has revisited its prior interpretation of the standards for assessment of CMPs under the HITECH Act, and is exercising … Continue Reading
On April 18, 2019, the Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued five new FAQs addressing the applicability of HIPAA to the use of software applications (apps) by individuals to receive health information from their providers. The new FAQs are available here under the Header “Access Right, Apps and APIs.” … Continue Reading
On April 8, 2019, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDA) filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit seeking review of a decision by the Department of Health & Human Services’s (HHS) Departmental Appeals Board (DAB) Appellate Division to uphold $4.35 million in civil money penalties (CMPs) … Continue Reading
We previously reported that Cottage Health, a health care entity operating several hospitals in California, settled with the State of California for $3 million in regard to a security incident that occurred in 2013. On February 7, 2019, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a press release that it settled HIPAA violations in December … Continue Reading
According to reports, a Georgia-based physician who previously pleaded guilty to criminal violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) received six months of probation from a Massachusetts federal judge earlier this week. The physician – a pediatric cardiologist – pleaded guilty in February, 2018 to a misdemeanor count of wrongful disclosure of … Continue Reading
On December 14, 2018 the Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting public input on updates to regulations promulgated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) with the goals of removing “regulatory obstacles” and decreasing “regulatory burdens” in furtherance of the health care industry’s … Continue Reading
The Office for Civil Rights has announced that it has settled with Lakeland, Florida based Advanced Care Hospitalists (ACH) for $500,000 for allegations of an impermissible disclosure of protected health information by one of its business associates. ACH provides contract internal medicine physicians to nursing homes and hospitals. According to the press release, between November … Continue Reading
The United States Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement this week with Allergy Associates of Hartford, P.C. whereby Allergy Associates agreed to pay $125,000 to resolve a HIPAA violation complaint that alleged the covered entity impermissibly disclosed the complainant’s Protected Health Information (PHI) to an unauthorized third … Continue Reading
On November 2, 2018, the New Jersey Attorney General announced a settlement worth up to $200,000 with a former medical transcription company responsible for a breach affecting medical records of up to 1,654 patients of a New Jersey physician network for which the company acted as a business associate. Please see our analysis of an … Continue Reading
