On September 7, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights issued an announcement containing disaster preparedness and recovery guidance in advance of Hurricane Irma. The announcement underscores key privacy and security issues for entities covered by HIPAA to help them protect individuals’ health information before, during and after emergency situations.… Continue Reading
On July 25, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced the release of an updated web tool that highlights recent data breaches of health information. … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights and the Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force have published important materials addressing cybersecurity in the health care industry. This blog entry provides highlights on these materials.… Continue Reading
On May 10, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced a 2.4 million dollar civil monetary penalty against Memorial Hermann Health System for alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Privacy Rule. … Continue Reading
On May 12, 2017, a massive ransomware attack, known as “WannaCry,” began affecting tens of thousands of computer systems in over 100 countries. These types of incidents can have significant legal implications for affected entities and industries for whom data access and continuity is critical. As affected entities work to understand and respond to the threat of ransomware, we address some of the key legal considerations.… Continue Reading
On April 24, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced that it had entered into a resolution agreement with CardioNet, Inc., stemming from gaps in policies and procedures uncovered after CardioNet reported breaches of unsecured electronic protected health information.… Continue Reading
On April 12, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights entered into a resolution agreement with Metro Community Provider Network that stemmed from MCPN’s lack of a risk analysis and risk management plan that addressed risks and vulnerabilities to protected health information. … Continue Reading
On April 6, 2017, New Mexico became the 48th state to enact a data breach notification law, leaving Alabama and South Dakota as the two remaining states without such requirements. The Data Breach Notification Act (H.B. 15) goes into effect on July 1, 2017. … Continue Reading
On February 17, 2017, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey agreed to pay 1.1 million dollars as part of a settlement with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs regarding allegations that Horizon did not adequately protect the privacy of nearly 690,000 policyholders. … Continue Reading
On February 16, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights entered into a resolution agreement with Memorial Healthcare System that emphasized the importance of audit controls in preventing breaches of protected health information. The 5.5 million dollar settlement with Memorial is the fourth enforcement action taken by OCR in 2017, and matches the largest civil monetary ever imposed against a single covered entity.… Continue Reading
On February 1, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced a 3.2 million dollar civil monetary penalty against Children’s Medical Center of Dallas for alleged ongoing violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, following two consecutive breaches of patient ePHI.… Continue Reading
On January 18, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights entered into a resolution agreement with MAPFRE Life Insurance Company of Puerto Rico relating to a breach of protected health information contained on a portable storage device. This is the second enforcement action taken by OCR in 2017, following the action taken against Presence Health earlier this month for failing to make timely breach notifications.… Continue Reading
On January 7, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights entered into a resolution agreement with Presence Health stemming from the entity’s failure to notify affected individuals, the media and OCR within 60 days of discovering a breach. This marks the first OCR settlement of 2017 and the first enforcement action relating to untimely breach reporting by a HIPAA covered entity.… Continue Reading
On November 22, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a $650,000 settlement with University of Massachusetts Amherst, resulting from alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Privacy and Security Rules. … Continue Reading
On October 25, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission released a guide for businesses on how to handle and respond to data breaches. The 16-page guide details steps businesses should take once they become aware of a potential breach. The guide also underscores the need for cyber-specific insurance to help offset potentially significant response costs.… Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights issued guidance for HIPAA-covered entities that use cloud computing services involving electronic protected health information. … Continue Reading
On September 15, 2016, the New Jersey Senate unanimously approved a bill that would limit retailers’ ability to collect and use personal data contained on consumers’ driver and non-driver identification cards. The bill, known as the Personal Information and Privacy Protection Act, must now be approved by the New Jersey Assembly.… Continue Reading
In this first segment from Bloomberg Law’s Second Annual Big Law Business Summit, Hunton partner Lisa Sotto describes the dramatic changes in the legal landscape of privacy over the last 10 to 15 years. View the video recording now. … Continue Reading
On August 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights entered into a resolution agreement with Advocate Health Care Network over alleged HIPAA violations. The multimillion dollar settlement with Advocate is the largest settlement to date against a single covered entity.… Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights recently entered into resolution agreements with two large public health centers over alleged HIPAA violations.… Continue Reading
On June 30, 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced that it had settled potential HIPAA Security Rule violations with Catholic Health Care Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. This is the first enforcement action OCR has taken against a business associate since the HIPAA Omnibus Rule was enacted in 2013.… Continue Reading
Recently, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals announced that it will enter into several settlements and plead guilty to two misdemeanors in connection with alleged violations of HIPAA, drug marketing regulations and securities laws. The criminal charges stem from the company’s marketing of a cholesterol drug called Juxtapid. Aegerion allegedly failed to comply with risk evaluation and management strategies and … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights recently announced resolution agreements with Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic, P.A., and New York-Presbyterian Hospital for HIPAA Privacy Rule violations.… Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission recently released an interactive tool for mobile health apps. The tool was developed in conjunction with several other federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and the Food and Drug Administration.… Continue Reading
