To sign up for updates or to access your subscriber preferences, please enter your contact information below. The pharmacy did not consider the customer's insurance card to be protected health information (PHI). Cornell Pharmacy is a single-location healthcare provider that mostly serves hospice care organizations in Denver and provides compound medications. Employees were trained to provide only the minimum necessary information in messages, and were given specific direction as to what information could be left in a message. This usually happens when a celebrity checks into the hospital, but that's not always the case. The new procedures were instituted in Medicaid offices and independent health care programs under the jurisdiction of the municipal social service agency. MIE also settled a multi-state action with state attorneys general and paid a penalty of $900,000. Prison Time for Scheme to Frame Nurse for HIPAA Violations. Some cases also can result in imprisonment up to one year for a standard violation and imprisonment for up to five years for a violation committed under false pretenses. It did not change the maximum penalty for a violation, which means that the maximum penalty for a tier 1 violation is higher than the annual penalty cap, but for as long as the notice of enforcement discretion is in effect, the maximum penalty per year applies. Failure to report a violation could have serious consequences. The case was settled for $3,500. In August 2012, Cancer Care Group discovered a laptop computer and unencrypted backup drive had been stolen from the vehicle of an employee. Covered Entity: Health Care Provider Below are details of 47 incidents since 2012 in which workers at nursing homes and assisted-living centers shared photos or videos of residents on social media networks. Read More, OCR has announced a $5.5 million settlement had been reached with Florida-based Memorial Healthcare Systems to resolve potential Privacy Rule and Security Rule violations. Contrary to the Privacy Rule protections for information sought for administrative or judicial proceedings, the hospital failed to determine that reasonable efforts had been made to insure that the individual whose PHI was being sought received notice of the request and/or failed to receive satisfactory assurance that the party seeking the information made reasonable efforts to secure a qualified protective order. There may be a viable claim, in some cases, under state privacy laws. Copyright 2014-2023 HIPAA Journal. Read More, OCR received a complaint from a patient of Dr. Rajendra Bhayani, a Regal Park, NY-based private practitioner specializing in otolaryngology, alleging he had not provided a patient with a copy of her medical records. To resolve this matter, the mental health center revised its intake assessment policy and procedures to specify that the notice will be provided and the clinician will attempt to obtain a signed acknowledgement of receipt of the notice prior to the intake assessment. Read More, An OCR investigation into an impermissible disclosure of 9,255 individuals PHI by Advanced Care Hospitalists, a business associate of a HIPAA-covered entity, revealed serious HIPAA compliance failures including a lack of a BAA, insufficient security measures to protect ePHI, and no documentation showing there had been any HIPAA compliance efforts prior to April 1, 2014. Massachusetts General Hospital agreed to settle the alleged HIPAA violations with OCR for $515,000. The case was ultimately unsuccessful; the court ruled in favor of the nurse. In some states, the amount of punitive damages awarded could far outweigh the maximum $1.5 million fine (per violation) that can be imposed by OCR. In the majority of cases, the agency resolves the complaints without the need for an investigation or finds no HIPAA violation exists. The diagnostic laboratory settled the case with OCR and paid a $16,500 financial penalty. The device contained a range of patients ePHI, including full names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth. For one violation, fines can range from $100-$50,000 for each instance of wrongdoing. There are four tiers of HIPAA violation penalties for nurses, ranging from unknowing violations to willful neglect of HIPAA Rules. HIPAA Journal's goal is to assist HIPAA-covered entities achieve and maintain compliance with state and federal regulations governing the use, storage and disclosure of PHI and PII. Issue: Access. Comments and replies to someone else's post, chat room gossip (even if it's a private room) or leaving a review on a site like Yelp opens the door for potential HIPAA violations. Another potential HIPAA violation that's easily overlooked is discussing information over the phone. September 05, 2017 - A Kentucky hospital was found to have acted lawfully when it fired a nurse for committing a HIPAA violation, according to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Now add up that time for a week, a month, or even a year. HITECH News Read More, Anchorage Community Mental Health Services (ACMHS) runs five mental health facilities in Alaska and is a non-profit organization. OCR investigated Peachstate and uncovered multiple potential violations of the HIPAA Security Rule. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required that the pharmacy chain implement national policies and procedures to safeguard the log books. Health Sciences Center Revises Process to Prevent Unauthorized Disclosures to Employers Covered Entity: Mental Health Center OCR settled the case for $240,000. A settlement of $85,000 was agreed upon with OCR to resolve the HIPAA violation. Further, the covered entity's Privacy Officer and other representatives met with the patient and apologized, and followed the meeting with a written apology. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $5,000. OCR provided technical assistance but received another complaint from the same patient that the records had still not been provided. A good example of this is a laptop that is stolen. After OCR notified the entity of the allegation, the entity released the complainants medical records but also billed him $100.00 for a records review fee as well as an administrative fee. The Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit health system, Banner Health, experienced a hacking incident that resulted in the impermissible disclosure of the PHI of 2.81 million individuals in 2016. A settlement of $85,000 was agreed upon to resolve the violation. Resolution Agreements. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $160,000. Read More, Puerto Rico Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee Triple S Management Corporation has agreed to pay a HIPAA violation fine of $3.5 million to the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. Read More, The Californian general dental practice, New Vision Dental, was investigated by OCR following reports about impermissible disclosures of patients protected health information on the review platform Yelp. The four categories range from unknowing violations to willful disregard of HIPAA rules. > HIPAA Compliance and Enforcement Read More, OCR launched an investigation of University of Rochester Medical Center following receipt of two breach reports concerning lost/stolen portable devices containing ePHI a flash drive and a laptop computer. A was charged with violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and with "conspiracy to wrongfully disclose individual health information for personal gain with maliciously harmful intent in a personal dispute." Her husband was charged with witness tampering. Therefore you should assess employees security awareness as part of a risk analysis to see if more training is required. Read More, Office for Civil Rights has agreed to its largest-ever financial penalty for a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Acts Privacy and Security Rules. Pharmacy Chain Enters into Business Associate Agreement with Law Firm New York and Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) and Columbia University (CU) will jointly pay a penalty of $4,800,000. Covered Entity: Health Care Provider By increasing its enforcement activity, OCR is sending a message to all covered entities, large and small, that violations of HIPAA Rules will not be tolerated. However, the investigation revealed that the pharmacy chain and the law firm had not entered into a Business Associate Agreement, as required by the Privacy Rule to ensure that PHI is appropriately safeguarded. Read More, Housing Works, Inc. is a New York City-based non-profit healthcare organization that provides healthcare, homeless services, and legal aid support for people affected by HIV/AIDS. 0:04. In 2012 it suffered a security breach that exposed the data of 2,700 individuals as a result of a malware infection. OCRs investigation revealed that the radiology practice had relied upon incorrect billing information from the treating hospital in submitting the claim. A private practice denied an individual access to his records on the basis that a portion of the individual's record was created by a physician not associated with the practice. HIPAA Violations: Nurse Looked At Her Mother's, Sister's Charts, Termination Upheld. To resolve the issues in this case, the hospital developed and implemented several new procedures. Sentara Hospitals reported the breach to OCR as having impacted 8 individuals. The outpatient facility reportedly believed that such disclosures were permitted by the Privacy Rule. A physician practice requested that patients sign an agreement entitled Consent and Mutual Agreement to Maintain Privacy. The agreement prohibited the patient from directly or indirectly publishing or airing commentary about the physician, his expertise, and/or treatment in exchange for the physicians compliance with the Privacy Rule. Nurses may violate HIPAA if they use non-approved channels to transmit patient information. Covered Entity: General Hospital Read More, OCR imposed a $2.154 million civil monetary penalty against the Miami, FL-based nonprofit academic medical system, Jackson Health System (JHS), for a slew of violations of HIPAA Privacy Rule, Security Rule, and Breach Notification Rule. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $65,000. The case was settled for $1,500,000. Delivered via email so please ensure you enter your email address correctly. In 2014, hackers accessed its systems and stole the ePHI of 6,121,158 individuals. Issue: Safeguards, Minimum Necessary. However, the patient was not covered by workers compensation and had not identified workers compensation as responsible for payment. OCR settled the case for $22,500. Delaware Co. June 5, 2012). Unprotected storage of private health information can be an issue. The local newspaper then featured on its front page the individuals x-ray and an article that included the date of the accident, the location of the accident, the patients gender, a description of patients medical condition, and numerous quotes from the hospital about such unusual sporting accidents. On September 29, 2011, a portable USB storage device (pen drive) was left overnight in the IT Department from where it was stolen. An Accusation is a legal document formally charging a registered nurse with a violation (s) of the Nursing Practice Act, and notifying the public that a disciplinary action is pending against that nurse. As of July 2022, there have been 38 HIPAA Right of Access cases under this compliance initiative that resulted in financial penalties. Over the past 12 months, the style and severity of threats have continuously evolved. Read More, The solo dental practitioner in Butler, PA, failed to provide a patient with a copy of their medical record in a timely manner. OCR received a complaint from a patient who had not been provided with her medical records after a 2-month wait. Read More, Danbury Psychiatric Consultants in Massachusetts received a request for medical records on March 24, 2020, but access to the records was refused due to an outstanding bill. In addition to corrective action taken under the Privacy Rule, the state attorney general's office entered into a monetary settlement agreement with the patient. Read More, Great Expressions Dental Center of Georgia, P.C. OCR clarified that an individual's health insurance card meets the statutory definition of PHI and, as such, needs to be safeguarded. After treating a patient injured in a rather unusual sporting accident, the hospital released to the local media, without the patients authorization, copies of the patients skull x-ray as well as a description of the complainants medical condition. Issue: Impermissible Disclosure. The case was settled for $62,500. The medical center had also failed to enter into a BAA with a business associate. We've aggregated the ultimate list of reported celebrity HIPAA violations. This is the second-largest settlement amount agreed with OCR. Toll Free Call Center: 1-800-368-1019 6) Keep Thoughts to Yourself. A settlement of $150,000 has been reached with OCR. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) imposed a $1.6 million civil monetary penalty (CMP) on Texas Health and Human Services Commission (TX HHSC) for multiple violations of HIPAA Rules discovered during the investigation of an exposed internal application containing ePHI. In 2015, Premera discovered there had been a breach of the ePHI of 10,466,692 individuals. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has agreed to a $650,000 settlement with University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass). Issue: Safeguards. OCR determined the failure to terminate access rights when employment had ended was in violation of the HIPAA Security Rule. Cancel Any Time. Breach News OCR intervened and provided technical assistance on the HIPAA Right of Access but received a second complaint when the records had still not been provided. Violating HIPAA law can result in fines, job termination, loss of licensure, and criminal charges. To resolve the matter, OCR required the pharmacy chain and the law firm to enter into a business associate agreement. The infection resulted in the impermissible disclosure of the electronic protected health information of 1,670 individuals. The possibility of HIPAA lawsuits brought forth by patients and breach victims could change HIPAA enforcement. In April 2019, OCR reexamined the HITECH Act and determined the language had been misinterpreted and issued a Notice of Enforcement Discretion stating the maximum annual penalties in each penalty tier would be changed to reflect the seriousness of the violations. Read More, Following the report of the theft of a laptop from the Springfield Missouri Physical Therapy Center, Concentra Health Services was subjected to an investigation by the OCR. Read More, Bayfront Health St. Petersburg was investigated following receipt of a complaint from a patient on August 14, 2018. The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has revealed a $65,000 HIPAA violation settlement has been agreed with West Georgia Ambulance, Inc., to address multiple breaches of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Rules. HIPAA violations are not uncommon. This discrepancy is expected to be addressed through further rulemaking to make the new penalty structure permanent. OCR settled the case for $3,500. Read More, The city of New Haven in Connecticut was investigated over an incident where a former employee accessed its systems after termination and copied a file containing the ePHI of 498 individuals. Read more, In 2015, Excellus Health Plan reported a breach of the ePHI of 9,358,891 individuals. OCR received a complaint from a patient who alleged he had been denied access to his medical records. Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility Therefore, it . The Center for Childrens Digestive Health (CCDH); a small 7-center pediatric subspecialty practice based in Park Ridge, Illinois has agreed to pay OCR $31,000 to resolve potential HIPAA violations.
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