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Will HHS’ approach for imposing penalties in the aftermath of a data breach become a little clearer in 2021? This is a distinct possibility in the wake of a Fifth Circuit decision...
Monday, February 8, 2021 Will HHS’ approach for imposing penalties in the aftermath of a data breach become a little clearer in 2021? This is a distinct possibility in the wake of a Fifth Circuit decision vacating penalties against MD Anderson Cancer Center. The hospital suffered three data breaches, leading HHS to impose over $4 million in civil penalties. That fine was reversed recently by the Fifth Circuit as arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law. MD Anderson first reported to HHS a lost unencrypted laptop that contained ePHI of 29,021 individuals in 2012. It also mispla...
What Happens During an OCR Investigation Handling HIPAA violation complaints Friday, February 5th, 2021 The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), was established to protect individuals’ medical records and protected health information (PHI) through its privacy and security rules. Health care providers that receive reimbursement for claims from federal programs are considered covered entities and are responsible for compliance with HIPAA regulations. In doing so, covered entities typically have an established HIPAA compliance program. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) i...
To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: Healthcare providers and other covered entities are not required by HIPAA regulations to have “bulletproof” protections for safeguarding patient information stored in electronic form, according to a January 14, 2021 decision of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In University of Texas M.D. Anderson v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the 5th Circuit vacated a $4.3 million civil monetary penalty imposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) against the University of Texas’ M.D. Anderson Can...
Friday, January 15, 2021 The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently published its findings from audits conducted in 2016 and 2017 of covered entities’ and business associates’ compliance with selected provisions of HIPAA's Privacy, Breach Notification, and Security Rules. The audits included health care providers, health plans, health care clearinghouses, and business associates. In short, OCR found material noncompliance with HIPAA’s Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP), right of access, breach notification, and security risk ...