On December 1, 2022, the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a Bulletin on the obligations of HIPAA covered entities and business associates under the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules when using online tracking technologies.
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HIPAA
FTC Releases Updated Mobile Health App Compliance Tool
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On December 7, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission released an updated Mobile Health App Interactive Tool to help developers determine what federal laws and regulations apply to apps that collect and process health data.
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Pennsylvania Amends Breach Notification Law
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On November 3, 2022, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf singed Senate Bill 636 into law, amending Pennsylvania’s breach notification law.
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New California Laws Enhance Reproductive Health Privacy Protections
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On September 27, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a pair of bills designed to prevent medical information and other data held by California entities from being used in out-of-state abortion prosecutions.
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OCR Announces $300,000 Settlement Related to Improper Disposal of Physical PHI
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On August 23, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights announced that it had settled a case involving the disposal of physical protected health information. …
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NIST Publishes New Draft Guidance on HIPAA Security Rule
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On July 21, 2022, the National Institute of Standards and Technology released an updated draft of its HIPAA Security Rule guidance. …
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FTC Issues Business Alert on Illegal Use and Sharing of Location, Health and other Sensitive Data
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On July 11, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection issued a business alert on businesses’ handling of sensitive data, with a particular focus on location and health data.
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President Biden Issues Executive Order Protecting Privacy of Reproductive Health Data
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Posted in Enforcement, Health Privacy
On July 8, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order titled, “Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services,” in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. …
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HHS Issues Post-Dobbs Guidance to Protect Patient Privacy
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On June 29, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued two guidance documents to “help protect patients seeking reproductive health care, as well as their providers” following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. …
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HHS Releases Guidance on Audio-Only Telehealth Practices
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Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights released guidance to help covered entities understand how they can use remote communication technologies for audio-only telehealth in compliance with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Specifically, the Guidance clarifies how audio-only telehealth can be conducted after OCR’s Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth, put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, is no longer in effect.
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