Have you ever asked your healthcare provider to send you medical records by email? Most likely, you’ve received the reply: “We can’t do that. We can only fax them to you or provide you with a paper copy.” This answer is wrong. HIPAA’s right for individuals to access their health information, 45 CFR § 164.524, provides: […]
Allergy Associates of Hartford has agreed to pay $125,000 to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for an alleged violation of HIPAA. The incident occurred in February 2015. A patient reached out to a local TV station about a dispute with a doctor at Allergy Associates. […]
by Daniel J. Solove In 2012, the media erupted with news about employers demanding employees provide them with their social media passwords so the employers could access their accounts. This news took many people by surprise, and it set off a firestorm of public outrage. It even sparked a significant legislative response in the states. […]
In the annals of what must be one of the most ridiculous data security incidents, a law firm employee sent a client file on an unencrypted thumb drive in the mail. The file contained Social Security information and other financial data. Seriously? The envelope arrived without the USB drive. The firm contacted the post office. […]
Happy Halloween! I hope you enjoy this privacy cartoon about Halloween and Big Data.
This HIPAA cartoon involves the notice of privacy practices (NPP) under HIPAA. HIPAA has a set of detailed requirements for the NPP. See 45 CFR 164.520 for the text of HIPAA’s requirement for NPPs. The biggest challenge regarding privacy notices is that hardly anyone actually reads the notice, and notices are often a chore to read. There is […]
I am very excited to announce that my HIPAA training programs and short courses have received a complete update and new design.
Cybersecurity litigation is currently at a crossroads. Courts have struggled in these cases, coming out in wildly inconsistent ways about whether a data breach causes harm. Although the litigation landscape is uncertain, there are some near certainties about cybersecurity generally: There will be many data breaches, and they will be terrible and costly. We thus […]
One of the biggest challenges for organizations is locating all the personal data they have. This task must be done, however, to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy laws. Moreover, the GDPR and the new California Consumer Privacy Act provide that individuals have rights regarding their data. These rights often […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has been notoriously slow to tackle new technology. In 2002, Blackberry launched its first smart phone. On June 29, 2007, Steve Jobs announced the launch of the original Apple iPhone. But it took the Supreme Court until 2014 to decide a case involving the Fourth Amendment and smart phones – Riley […]