Georgia Physician Pays $36,000 to Settle HIPAA Right of Access Violation Charges
Case: In April 2019, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) received a complaint about a primary care physician practice’s failure to respond to a patient’s request for access to his medical records. A month later, OCR provided technical assistance to the practice on the HIPAA right of access requirements and closed the complaint. But in October 2019, the agency received a second complaint alleging that the practice still hadn’t given the patient access to his medical records. So, OCR investigated and determined that the practice’s failure to provide the requested medical records was a potential violation of the HIPAA right of access standard. In addition to eventually giving the patient access, the practice agreed to settle the complaint for $36,000 and agreement to take corrective actions and undergo two years of OCR monitoring. Significance: This is the 13th settlement of an investigation under the OCR’s HIPAA Right of Access Initiative, which began in the spring of 2019. Here’s a Scorecard of all announced settlements to date. For more on the Initiative, see National Intelligence Review (NIR), Nov. 18, 2020. OCR Right of Access Initiative Settlements Scorecard (as of Dec. 29, 2020) Provider Settlement Amount* Allegations St. Joseph’s Hospital and […]
| Provider | Settlement Amount* | Allegations |
|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center | 160000 | Phoenix hospital refused to provide PHI to patient’s mother even though she was his legal representative |
| NY Spine Medicine | 100000 | Neurology practice refuses patient’s multiple requests for copies of specific diagnostic films |
| Bayfront Hospital | 85000 | Florida hospital didn’t provide expectant mother timely access to the PHI of her unborn child |
| Korunda Medical | 85000 | After first refusing to provide it at all, Florida primary care and interventional pain management services provider sent patient’s PHI to third party in the wrong format and charged him excessive fees |
| Beth Israel Lahey Health Behavioral Services | 70000 | Massachusetts provider ignored request of personal representative seeking access to her father’s PHI |
| University of Cincinnati Medical Center, LLC | 65000 | Ohio academic medical center failed to respond to patient’s request to send an electronic copy of her medical records maintained in its electronic health record EHR to her lawyers |
| Housing Works Inc. | 38000 | New York City non-profit services provider refused patient’s request for a copy of his medical records |
| Peter Wrobel, M.D., P.C., dba Elite Primary Care | 36000 | Georgia primary care practice failed to provide patient access to his medical records |
| Riverside Psychiatric Medical Group | 25000 | California medical group didn’t provide patient copy of her medical records despite repeated requests and OCR intervention |
| Dr. Rajendra Bhayani | 15000 | NY physician didn’t provide patient her medical records even after OCR intervened and closed the complaint |
| All Inclusive Medical Services, Inc. | 15000 | California multi-specialty family medicine clinic refused patient’s requests to inspect and receive a copy of her records |
| Wise Psychiatry, PC | 10000 | Colorado psychiatric firm refused to provide personal representative access to his minor son’s medical record |
| King MD | 3500 | Virginia psychiatric practice didn’t provide patient access to her medical records even after OCR intervened, provided technical assistance and closed the complaint |
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