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On July 20, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued letters to hospitals and telehealth providers “about the privacy and security risks related to the use of online tracking technologies integrated into their websites or mobile apps that may be impermissibly disclosing consumers’ sensitive personal health…

On April 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Proposed Rule) that seeks to enhance safeguards of reproductive health care information through changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. The proposal is intended to align with President Biden’s Executive Order…

On November 28, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule to modify the confidentiality protections of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) patient treatment records under 42 CFR Part 2 (Part 2) to implement statutory amendments passed under Section 3221 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (42…

On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a $4.348 million penalty for alleged HIPAA violations assessed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) against the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Hospital). The case arises from an enforcement action undertaken by HHS following the…

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Division of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) issued a health care and public health sector notification this week entitled “Ransomware Activity Targeting the Healthcare and Public Health Sector (Update 2),” which was co-authored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)…

Health care providers and contractors continue to be a popular target for hackers. Recently, CHSPSC LLC (CHSPSC), which provides various services to hospitals and clinics indirectly owned by Community Health Systems, Inc. of Tennessee, agreed to pay $2,300,000 to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in settlement of potential violations of HIPAA’s Privacy and Security…

On March 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued new HIPAA guidance to help providers and first responders in its efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

OCR’s guidance addresses when HIPAA allows disclosures without patient authorization of identifying health information to first responders – such…

On March 20, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued additional guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on HIPAA and telehealth services to help providers furnish care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FAQs follow and provide further information on the Notification of Enforcement Discretion issued by HHS…

Evil doers know that the best time to attack is during a crisis or a time of vulnerability. As the United States, and specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) attempts to respond to and get ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., hackers, likely from a foreign enemy nation state, ramped…