Last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told reporters that he is in talks with representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Justice about easing HIPAA restrictions in situations where individuals have experienced an opioid overdose. Gov. Christie chairs the presidential commission on opioid abuse. Speaking to … Continue Reading
The North Dakota Department of Human Services has admitted that one of its employees threw Medicaid claim resolution worksheets into a dumpster instead of disposing them in a secure onsite shredding receptacle. The result? The documents were found in the dumpster by a citizen who notified the Department, which then notified almost 2,500 patients of … Continue Reading
For those of you who know me, you know that I have been very frustrated with the federal and state governments for continuing to use Social Security numbers for eligibility, enrollment and participating in Medicare and Medicaid. This includes listing individuals’ Social Security numbers on the Medicare and Medicaid cards. The good news is that … Continue Reading
A new report released by Check Point has security personnel working in the health care industry particularly concerned and they are warning their colleagues about the existence of “Fireball.” Fireball, released by a Chinese operation, has infected approximately 250 million computers worldwide. According to the report, the malware hijacks web browsers and turns computers into … Continue Reading
This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its “Report on Improving Cybersecurity in the Health Care Industry,” which is the culmination of a year-long effort on behalf of the Cybersecurity Task Force, made up of industry professionals from the public and private sectors to identify and develop recommendations “on the growing … Continue Reading
Following the frequent and varied ransomware attacks on health care entities over the past few years, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published guidance last summer to the health care industry reminding it that a ransomware attack could be a reportable breach under the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule. Despite the fact that many health care … Continue Reading
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a press release today announcing that it has settled alleged HIPAA violations with Memorial Hermann Health System (MHHS) for $2.4 million. According to the Resolution Agreement it has inked with the OCR, MHHS must also implement a corrective action plan, including updating its policies and procedures, training staff … Continue Reading
Now more than ever, workplace wellness programs are becoming increasingly popular among employers. A common concern many employers have is how to design a meaningful workplace program intended to improve the health of participating employees while complying with HIPAA’s privacy and security rules. Although employers are not covered entities, HIPAA may apply to an employer’s … Continue Reading
Showing no signs of letting up on enforcement actions, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) late last week settled an investigation against Metro Community Provider Network MCPN, a Colorado based federally qualified health center, for alleged HIPAA violations. The fine, a whopping $400,000 for the center, which provides health care services to low income patients, … Continue Reading
ABCD Pediatrics, located in San Antonio, Texas has notified the Office for Civil Rights that a ransomware cyber intrusion has resulted in access to its servers, including the protected health information (PHI) of its patients. The ransomware used by the attackers was Dharma. The practice found through forensic analysis that access had been gained to … Continue Reading
New guidance from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) urges covered entities and business associates to use Secure Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTPS) to protect communications from vulnerabilities. According to OCR, the vulnerability can be introduced by the use of products that inspect HTTPS traffic. These products are used to detect malware or unsafe connections, which … Continue Reading
Buffalo, New York Erie County Medical Center has announced that its IT system has been shut down since Sunday, April 11, 2017, due to an unnamed virus. The shut-down has affected the medical facility’s email system, electronic health record and website. Because the electronic health system is not accessible, staff is using paper records for … Continue Reading
Another employee falls for a phishing attack. This time, it was an employee of the Washington University School of Medicine The employee received a phishing email on December 2, 2016, and fell for what looked like a real request, responded to it, which allowed access to employee email accounts, which included the health information of 80,000 … Continue Reading
We often forget that state AG’s have jurisdiction under the HIPAA Omnibus Rule to levy fines and penalties against HIPAA covered entities for violations. This is because the Office for Civil Rights has traditionally taken the primary role in enforcing HIPAA. But Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon) was reminded of the … Continue Reading
Florida Memorial Healthcare Systems has agreed to pay the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) $5.5 million to settle alleged HIPAA violations relating to an incident that occurred in April 2012 that two employees accessed patient information of 106,000 patients in an unauthorized manner and with criminal intent, including their names, dates of birth, and Social … Continue Reading
Health care data breaches are not slowing. According to a report issued by Protenus, in conjunction with www.databreaches.net, the summary of healthcare data breaches in 2017 continues where 2016 left off. In January 2017, there were 31 data breaches reported to the Office for Civil Rights. The breaches resulted in the compromise of 388,307 patient … Continue Reading
In a rare move by the OCR, it assessed a $3.2 million fine against Children’s Medical Center of Dallas (Children’s) after it issued a Notice of Proposed Determination against Children’s and Children’s failed to request a hearing. The Notice was issued following the OCR’s investigation of two self-reported data breaches. The first involved the theft … Continue Reading
MAPFRE Life Assurance Company of Puerto Rico learned the hard way about the risk of loss of patient information with portable devices like USBs, even when they are stored in the IT Department. On September 29, 2011, an unencrypted portable USB storage device, which was left overnight in the IT Department, was stolen by an … Continue Reading
Providence Health & Services, a health system located in Alaska, California, Oregon, Montana and Washington, has reported that its paging system has been breached. An unauthorized individual was able to intercept pages between healthcare workers and post the contents of the pages online between October 25 and October 28, 2016. The pages included patients’ names, … Continue Reading
A delay in reporting a HIPAA violation can result in a significant monetary penalty. That was the message sent by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which recently announced the first HIPAA settlement based on the untimely reporting of a breach of unsecured protected health information (PHI). According to the OCR, Presence Health (a large … Continue Reading
The National Governors Association released a road map report on December 9 entitled, Getting the Right Information to the Right Health Care Providers at the Right Time: A Road Map for States to Improve Health Information Flow Between Providers. The report aims at reducing the legal barriers that prevent the effective and efficient flow of health … Continue Reading
Whenever fact sheets or other guidance is issued by either the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) or the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), it helps gain insight into the thinking of the regulators so we watch it closely. But when the ONC and OCR issues joint guidance, it is hitting … Continue Reading
On November 30, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives voted strongly in favor of the 21st Century Cures Act (the Act), an expansive health bill that addresses the discovery and development of new medical therapies as well the delivery of health care treatment by providers. In 2015, the House had previously approved an earlier version … Continue Reading
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced that the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) has agreed to settle an investigation against it as a result of a malware infection for $650,000, along with implementing a Corrective Action Plan. Although $650,000 is a hefty sum for the allegations, the OCR in its announcement said it … Continue Reading
