Advanced Care Hospitalists PL (ACH) has agreed to pay $500,000 to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for an alleged violation of HIPAA. OCR found that the company shared protected health information (PHI) with an unknown vendor without a business associate agreement (BAA). According to […]
12/13/18 Update: Here is the video from the session described below. On Wednesday, December 12, 2018, I’ll be speaking at the Data Security hearing, part of the FTC Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century. My panel begins at 1:00 PM: The U.S. Approach to Consumer Data Security Wednesday, December 12, 2018 from […]
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: […]
A study released last month in Jama Open Network entitled Assessment of US Hospital Compliance With Regulations for Patients’ Requests for Medical Records demonstrates that compliance with HIPAA’s right to access medical records remains woeful. In the second half of 2017, researchers contacted 83 US hospitals and conducted a simulated patient experience to ask for medical records. […]
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. […]
The EDPB (European Data Protection Board) was created by the EU Data Protection Directive in 1996. Its purpose is to provide advice, opinions, and guidance about data protection. The EDPB (European Data Protection Board) is composed of a representative from each EU member state. Below are some of the most important guidelines to be issued […]
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.