Articles Tagged With: HIPAA
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Does HIPAA Apply in Disasters? Registrars Can Say More Than They Realize
A frantic woman runs up to an ED registrar after a mass shooting to ask, “Is my son here?” Many registrars believe that if they answer this simple question, it’s a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This belief isn’t correct, says Kirk J. Nahra, JD, an attorney specializing in healthcare compliance at Wiley Rein in Washington, DC.
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HIPAA Can Be Challenging with Dementia Patients
Patients with dementia may require special attention with regard to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, as they aren’t always able to communicate effectively or give permission for clinicians to talk to others about their healthcare.
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$750,000 Settlement Highlights Need for HIPAA Business Associate Agreements
Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic of North Carolina has agreed to pay $750,000 to settle charges that it potentially violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy and Security Rules by failing to execute a business associate agreement prior to turning over protected health information of 17,300 patients to a potential business partner. The settlement includes a robust corrective action plan.
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Hospital to Pay $2.2 Million for Allowing Reality Show to Breach Privacy
In a scathing indictment of hospital collusion with reality television, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has reached a $2.2 million settlement with New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City for what OCR says was the “egregious” disclosure of two patients’ protected health information to film crews and staff during the filming of “NY Med,” an ABC reality show featuring real-life trauma cases at the hospital.
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Round 2 of Audits for HIPAA Are Focusing on Business Associates
The Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights announced recently that it is launching a second round of audits during 2016 to assess compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and this time, it is including business associates.
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Permitted uses of PHI explained in ONC blog
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has launched a new four-part blog series to explain how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act not only protects personal health information from misuse, but also allows health information to be accessed when it is needed for patient care.
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Decision on Lincare civil penalties should be a reminder of liability potential
The latest development in a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act breach investigation should serve as a reminder that fines are not the only way the government can punish a healthcare institution for failing to protect patient information. Civil penalties are possible, and the courts are upholding their legality.
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Don’t forget that small HIPAA violations can cause big problems for hospitals
The large data breaches that compromise the protected health information of thousands of people are the ones that receive all the attention, but the smaller violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act can be just as harmful, if not more so, to those involved.
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Data Breaches Increase. So What Can You Do?
Take these steps to lower your risk. -
HIPAA settlement addresses medical device users
Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, MA, has agreed to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. Lahey will pay $850,000 and will adopt a “robust” corrective action plan to correct deficiencies in its HIPAA compliance program, OCR reports. Lahey is a nonprofit teaching hospital affiliated with Tufts Medical School.