The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) delivered their annual report to congress and noted there have been significant increases in HIPAA complaints and large breaches. They also noted that there have not been increases in appropriations during the...

When a patient or a patient’s representative requests a copy of medical records it is very important to act promptly. Currently you have 30 days to comply with this request, and one 30-day extension (if you advise the patient/representative that...

Happy New Year! As we look back on 2022, we noticed that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has really started enforcing the Patients Right of Access. To see a list of fines and resolutions agreements, check out our What...

Scammers are always busy trying different tactics to get to your wallet. During holidays is no different. Bad actors use the holidays and people’s goodwill to fool them into giving. Be careful of offers that are too good to be...

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued a bulletin to remind covered entities and business associates of their obligations under HIPAA when using online tracking technology. These technologies include but are not limited to Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Cookies,...

With so many data breaches in the news many medical practitioners are asking if they can be sued over HIPAA violations or from a data breach. HIPAA rules state there is no private right of action, therefore, a patient cannot...

The Omnibus rule, also known as the “Final” rule changed HIPAA in many ways. It gave HIPAA teeth and included business associates as being liable under the HIPAA rules. I thought most medical providers had been made aware of the...

It is no secret that patient data is valuable on the black market. Cyber criminals will try many different methods to gain access to this data. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) stated in their Cybersecurity Newsletter that there has...

First, I hope that all of you and your loved ones are safe. Fiona and Ian have affected many places, and many have suffered so much. Prayers for all… HIPAA Applies Only to Covered Entities and Business Associates The HIPAA...

There has been some confusion about when and how to share patient information. I thought it might be a good time to review some of the facts from the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Here are some highlights: The Privacy...

Since HIPAA’s inception there have been several updates over the years. As technology changes, so must some the of HIPAA rules. We have not seen any major changes since 2013 when the Omnibus Rule gave HIPAA teeth and enforcement became...

Since 2015 the number of data breaches in healthcare has steadily been rising. This includes medical offices, health plans, and business associates. These breaches range from unauthorized access, loss, theft, but mostly from hacking. Hacking was determined to be from...

We have advised our clients for years to only transmit protected health information (PHI) if it is encrypted. We have also recommended encryption for the data at rest. With the rise of hacking, this is never more important. There are...

We have talked in the past about the Office for Civil Rights conducting a minimum of a 12 month look back for data security/ HIPAA compliance efforts. If an organization suffers a breach, with proper documentation fines may be waived. This...

It is a known fact that hackers target the healthcare sector because the data is so valuable. The cost of healthcare data breaches increased from a total average of $7.13M in 2020 to $9.23M in 2021. The average breach cost...

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a Request for Information (RFI) seeking comments from all stakeholders including covered entities, business associates, patients, and their families. The growing number of cybersecurity threats are a significant concern driving the need for...

The Office for Civil Rights sent out a cyber newsletter stating that throughout 2020-2021 hackers have targeted the health care industry and the number of breaches increased 45% from 2019 to 2020. The number of breaches due to hacking or...

This week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the resolution of four investigations related to the HIPAA privacy rule. Two cases were part of the HIPAA Right of Access, bringing the...

When the providers and upper management understand the ramifications of violations, then the rest of the staff typically will follow the examples that are set in place. Because HIPAA Compliance starts at the top! Violations happen when someone makes a...

There are many different types of “audits”, so when we refer to audits, we are referring to a “HIPAA audit”. When anyone mentions HIPAA audit, most practices think it won’t happen to them. I hear so often; I have never...