On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement with MedEvolve, Inc. for $350,000. MedEvolve provides practice and revenue cycle management and practice analytics software services to health care entities. The settlement resulted from MedEvolve’s alleged violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
health care
ONC Information Blocking Data Show Majority of Claims Against Health Care Providers
By Conor Duffy on
Posted in Health Information Privacy
On February 28, 2022, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued data on information blocking claims received since April 5, 2021, the effective date of information blocking regulations enacted under the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act). As a reminder, in accordance with the Cures Act’s prohibition on certain…
Urgent Warning of Imminent Threat to Hospitals Issued by U.S. Government
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Cybersecurity
On October 27, 2020, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned the health care industry about “an imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.”
According to the warning, which was shared during a conference call, the government has received “credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S.…
OCR Warns of Cyber Extortion and Provides Checklist
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in HIPAA and Health Information
In its January newsletter, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) focused on cyber extortion, which it stated has “risen steadily over the past couple of years and continue to be a major source of disruption for many organizations.” Since the health care industry has been the target of cyber extortion attacks, the OCR is…
Locky Ransomware Continues to Hit Health Care Entities
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Cybersecurity
FireEye Labs has reported that the Locky ransomware continues to hit the health care industry hard and has increased in the month of August.
Although the telecommunications, manufacturing, and aerospace/defense industries are also being targeted with Locky ransomware, the health care industry is being attacked with greater frequency and intensity.
The health care industry should…