As its days dwindle down, the current administration is mobilizing for one final push to reduce what it perceives to be unnecessarily burdensome regulation, including on the medical privacy front. On … [Read more...]
Focus On
OCR Audit Gives Providers Mixed Results for HIPAA Compliance
December 20, 2020
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) requires the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to periodically audit covered entities and business associates for … [Read more...]
Enforcement Scorecard
The HIPAA Information Access Rights Crackdown Continues
November 18, 2020
The face of federal HIPAA enforcement has changed in a subtle but significant way in the past 18 months. Historically, the focus has been all about keeping personal health information (PHI) private … [Read more...]
Cybersecurity
OCR Temporarily Eases HIPAA Privacy Restrictions for Telehealth Practice
April 16, 2020
In furtherance of its social distancing strategy, the federal government is temporarily allowing labs and other health care providers to use communication technologies like Facetime or Skype for any … [Read more...]
PAMA
COVID-19 Relief Bill Defers 2021 Medicare Part B Lab Test Price Cuts for One Year
April 14, 2020
The $2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act), provides for free coronavirus testing without adequately compensating the labs who perform the tests. … [Read more...]
Enforcement Trends: OCR Continues to Crack Down on HIPAA Right of Access Violations
February 27, 2020
On Sept. 9, 2019, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the HHS agency in charge of federal HIPAA enforcement, did something it had never done before by entering into a monetary settlement with a … [Read more...]
HIPAA: OCR Clarifies Rules for Sharing Coronavirus Patient Medical Information During Current Health Emergency
February 27, 2020
The usual HIPAA Privacy restrictions on collecting, using and disclosing personal health information (PHI) are relaxed during public health emergencies. With this in mind, the Office for Civil Rights … [Read more...]
COMPLIANCE GUIDANCE
HIPAA: New HIPAA Penalties System Rewards Labs that Try to Comply
August 12, 2019
New HHS rules significantly increase the amount of money your lab can save by making diligent and demonstrable efforts to prevent HIPAA violations even when those efforts don't succeed. We're … [Read more...]
HIPAA
Enforcement Trends: Record Breaking Year for HIPAA Fines
March 4, 2019
The federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reports that 2018 was a record year for HIPAA enforcement, with 10 settlements and one judgment bringing in $28.7 million in fines, easily surpassing the old … [Read more...]
CYBERSECURITY
HIPAA ePHI Violation Costs Colorado Hospital $111,400
February 15, 2019
Case: This case began when the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) received a complaint contending that an ex-employee of Pagosa Springs Medical Center (PSMC) still had remote access to the critical access … [Read more...]
