On May 6, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced that it had entered into a resolution agreement and $3 million settlement with Touchstone Medical Imaging. The settlement is the first OCR HIPAA enforcement action in 2019, following an all-time record year of HIPAA enforcement in 2018.
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Department of Health and Human Services
Federal Government Reduces Maximum Annual Penalties for Most Healthcare Privacy Violations
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On April 26, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reduced the available penalties for three out of the four tiers of privacy and security violations set forth in the HITECH Act. This blog entry provides an overview of the reductions.…
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HHS Publishes Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently published “Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices: Managing Threats and Protecting Patients,” which was developed by the Healthcare & Public Health Sector Coordinating Councils Public Private Partnership, a group comprised of over 150 cybersecurity and healthcare experts from government and private industry.…
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OCR Enters into Record Settlement with Anthem
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Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights entered into a resolution agreement and record settlement of $16 million with Anthem, Inc. following Anthem’s 2015 data breach, the largest breach of protected health information in history that affected approximately 79 million individuals.…
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OCR Issues Guidance on Disclosures to Family, Friends and Others
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Posted in Health Privacy, Information Security
In its most recent cybersecurity newsletter, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights provided guidance regarding identifying vulnerabilities and mitigating the associated risks on software used to process electronic protected health information.…
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HHS Publishes Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking on Accounting of Disclosures and Civil Monetary Penalties
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Posted in Health Privacy
The Department of Health and Human Services recently published two advance notices of proposed rulemaking that address accounting of disclosures and the potential distribution of civil monetary penalties to affected individuals. …
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Unsecured PHI Leads to OCR Settlement with Closed Business
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On February 13, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced that it had entered into a resolution agreement with the receiver appointed to liquidate the assets of Filefax, Inc. in order to settle potential violations of HIPAA. …
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HHS Announces $3.5 Million Settlement with Fresenius Medical Care
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On February 1, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced a settlement with dialysis clinic operator, Fresenius Medical Care, for alleged lax security practices that led to breaches of protected health information. …
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Cancer Center Settles with HHS for $2.3 Million over Data Breach
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On December 6, 2017, health care provider 21st Century Oncology agreed to pay 2.3 million dollars to settle charges by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights that its security practices led to a data breach involving patient information.…
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OCR Issues Guidance on Disclosures to Family, Friends and Others
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Posted in Health Privacy, Information Security
On October 3, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights issued an announcement clarifying when protected health information can be shared with family, friends and others.…
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