To resolve this matter to the satisfaction of OCR, the hospital: retrained an entire Department with regard to the requirements of the Privacy Rule; provided additional specific training to staff members whose job duties included leaving messages for patients; and, revised the Departments patient privacy policy to clarify patient rights to accommodation of reasonable requests to receive communications of PHI by alternative means or at alternative locations. Shaila Mae. Read More, OCR fined Pagosa Springs Medical Center $111,400 for the failure to terminate a former employees access to a web-based scheduling calendar, which resulted in an impermissible disclosure of 557 patients ePHI. In 2015, Premera discovered there had been a breach of the ePHI of 10,466,692 individuals. Covered Entity: Private Practice FileFax agreed to settle the alleged HIPAA violations for $100,000. A contested hearing took place, and the board found the nurse: OCR also determined that the Center denied the complainant's request for access because her therapists believed providing the records to her would likely cause her substantial harm. The case was settled with OCR and a 23,000 financial penalty was imposed. The maximum financial penalty, for willful neglect of the HIPAA Rules, is $1.5 million, per violation category, per year. Talking about a patient in a public area where others can hear you is a HIPAA violation. HMORevises Process to Obtain Valid Authorizations Read more, The dental practice with offices in Charlotte and Monroe, NC, impermissibly disclosed a patients PHI on a webpage in response to a negative online review. It took multiple requests and almost 5 months for all of the requested medical records to be provided. Further information on the penalties for HIPAA violations are detailed here. OCR determined its compliance program had been in disarray for several years. Triple S was also required to pay a HIPAA violation penalty of $6.8 million to the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration for a failure to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Acts Privacy Rule last year, although the HIPAA violation fine was reduced to $1.5 million on appeal. A penalty of $2.7 million will be paid by OHSU to settle alleged HIPAA violations without admission of liability. Listed below are all the OCR HIPAA violation cases that have resulted in a financial penalty. Pharmacy Chain Revises Process for Disclosures to Law Enforcement Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has announced it has settled potential HIPAA violations with Feinstein Institute for Medical Research for $3.9 million. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $30,000. A Georgia man has been sentenced to federal prison in an unusual case in which he portrayed himself as a whistleblower while falsely reporting to authorities that a hospital worker committed criminal HIPAA violations. Washington, D.C. 20201 Violating HIPAA law can result in fines, job termination, loss of licensure, and criminal charges. HIPAA Journal provides the most comprehensive coverage of HIPAA news anywhere online, in addition to independent advice about HIPAA compliance and the best practices to adopt to avoid data breaches, HIPAA violations and regulatory fines. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $10,000. National Pharmacy Chain Extends Protections for PHI on Insurance Cards $("#wpforms-form-28602 .wpforms-submit-container").appendTo(".submit-placement"); OCR determined that there had been an impermissible disclosure of 34,883 patients ePHI due to a lack of encryption. The case was settled for $1,040,000. In more servers cases, or where multiple violations have occurred, the nurse may lose their job. Read more, The California-based psychiatric medical services provider failed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records and charged an unreasonable fee when the records were eventually provided. 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. There may be a viable claim, in some cases, under state privacy laws. The previous record was the $3.5 million settlement with Triple S Management Corporation agreed in November 2015. The records were provided within days of OCR intervening. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services When state laws are violated, the individuals whose ePHI has been compromised may be able to take legal action against the breached entity if it can be proven that an individual has suffered harm due to the negligence of a Covered Entity or Business Associate. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has sent another warning to HIPAA-covered entities about the need to obtain signed, HIPAA-compliant business associate agreements with all vendors prior to disclosing any protected health information. Delaware Co. June 5, 2012). 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. Memorial Healthcare Systems has paid the penalty for non-compliance with HIPAA Rules, and in addition to the $5.5 million settlement, a robust corrective action plan must be adopted to address all areas of non-compliance. The ePHI of 62,500 patients was exposed. Issue: Impermissible Disclosure. The practice trained all staff on the newly developed policies and procedures. The case was settled for $2,300,000. The new procedures were instituted in Medicaid offices and independent health care programs under the jurisdiction of the municipal social service agency. Concentra has agreed to pay OCR $1,725,220 to resolve the case. OCR required the covered entity to cease using the patient agreement that conditioned the entitys compliance with the Privacy Rule. Covered Entity: General Hospital The case was settled for $25,000. OCR settled the case for $22,500. The incident for which the fine has been issued dates back to 2009 when a data security complaint was filed by a patient of one of its doctors. Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility State Hospital Sanctions Employees for Disclosing Patient's PHI According to the Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 112, Section 77, the Board must report disciplinary actions to national data reporting systems. Read More, Wise Psychiatry is a small provider of psychiatric services in Colorado. Boston Medical Center agreed to settle the alleged HIPAA violations with OCR for $100,000. In the majority of cases, the agency resolves the complaints without the need for an investigation or finds no HIPAA violation exists. In addition, the covered entity forwarded the complainant a complete copy of the medical record. OCR settled the case for $3,500. A nurse practitioner who has privileges at a multi-hospital health care system and who is part of the systems organized health care arrangement impermissibly accessed the medical records of her ex-husband. The complainant alleged that a mental health center (the "Center") refused to provide her with a copy of her medical record, including psychotherapy notes. Contacting individuals to participate in a research study is a use or disclosure of protected health information (PHI) for recruitment, as it is part of the research and is not an activity preparatory to research. Covered Entity: Private Practice Nancy Brent replies: Dear Paige: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountabilty Act requires that all covered entities (including nurses, whether they work in a hospital or other healthcare setting) protect against unauthorized disclosure of a patient's personally identifiable health information. 4) Loss or Theft of Devices. Corinne S Kennedy. It took 564 days from the initial request for all of the records to be provided to the patient. The investigation confirmed there had been a HIPAA Right of Access failure. In fact, even a competent healthcare facility will experience minor HIPAA violation cases at some point. Read more, Denver Retina Center, a Denver, CO-based provider of ophthalmological services, failed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records. To resolve the matter, OCR required the pharmacy chain and the law firm to enter into a business associate agreement. Issue: Safeguards. Among other actions taken to satisfactorily resolve this matter, the hospital took further disciplinary action with the nurse, which included: documenting the employee record with a memo of the incident; one year probation; referral for peer review; and further training on HIPAA Privacy. Read More, Mountlake Terrace, WA-based Premera Blue Cross is the largest health plan in the Pacific Northwest. A grocery store based pharmacy chain maintained pseudoephedrine log books containing protected health information in a manner so that individual protected health information was visible to the public at the pharmacy counter. The outpatient facility reportedly believed that such disclosures were permitted by the Privacy Rule. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Safeguards. The device was not protected by a password and data on the device was not encrypted. Five former Methodist employees have been indicted on charges . Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the pharmacy revised its policies regarding PHI and retrained its staff. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required the hospital to develop and implement a policy regarding disclosures related to serious threats to health and safety, and to train all members of the hospital staff on the new policy. Upon learning of the incident, the hospital placed both employees on leave; the orderly resigned his employment shortly thereafter. OCR investigated and found multiple potential HIPAA violations such as the failure to conduct a thorough risk analysis, risk management failures, and insufficient mechanisms to identify suspicious network activity. UMMC has also agreed to adopt a corrective action plan (CAP) to bring privacy and security standards up to the level required by HIPAA. A Nurse's Guide to the Use of Social Media discusses the case of a hospice nurse whose cancer patient had posted about her depression. Improper Disposal HIPAA rules state medical professionals must dispose of PHI in a secure manner. HIPAA Journal states that if a nurse violates HIPAA, it is important that the incident is reported to the person responsible for HIPAA compliance in your facility or your supervisor. November 30, 2021 - New York-based Huntington Hospital began notifying 13,000 patients of a data breach that exposed protected health information (PHI) and resulted in a former . The case was settled for $2.175 million. Once the physician learned that he could not withhold access until payment was made, the physician provided the complainant a copy of her medical record. A mother requested a copy of her sons medical records, but the records had not been provided three months after submitting the request. In many cases, records were only provided after OCR intervened. The default security settings were left in place, which allowed any individual with an Internet connection to gain access to the ePHI in the files. The HIPAA Journal is the leading provider of news, updates, and independent advice for HIPAA compliance. The nonprofit teaching hospital has also agreed to adopt the OCRs corrective action plan to address HIPAA-compliance issues discovered by OCR investigators. Other than stipulating training should be provided as necessary and appropriate for members of the workforce to carry out their functions (HIPAA Privacy Rule) and that CEs and BAs should implement a security awareness and training program for all members of the workforce (HIPAA Security Rule), there are no specific HIPAA training requirements. 0:57. Even though it is not done maliciously. Covered Entity: Private Practice 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. Read more, In 2015, Excellus Health Plan reported a breach of the ePHI of 9,358,891 individuals. Read more, The Diabetes, Endocrinology & Lipidology Center, Inc, a West Virginia-based healthcare provider specializing in treating endocrine disorders, failed to provide a parent with a copy of her minor childs protected health information within 30 days. OCR also determined there had been a risk analysis failure, a failure to implement Privacy Rule policies, and unique IDs had not been provided to all employees to track information system activity. OCR also identified issues with the notice of privacy practices and there was no HIPAA privacy officer. OCR intervened and provided technical assistance, but it took 16 months for the records to be provided. Read More, Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat in Florida received a request from a patient for a copy of medical records on December 15, 2020, and again on January 8, 2021, but the records were not provided until May 20, 2021. Large Health System Restricts Provider's Use of Patient Records Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required the provider to develop and implement policies and procedures regarding appropriate administrative and physical safeguards related to the communication of PHI. Read More, Southwest Surgical Associates in Texas took 13 months to provide a patient with all of the requested records between February 11, 2020, and March 5, 2021. 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. But it's vital. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced a new HIPAA settlement to resolve violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. 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. Mental Health Center Provides Access and Revises Policies and Procedures In 2017, Lifespan mentioned in a news release that someone broke into an employee vehicle and stole their work laptop. A staff member of a medical practice discussed HIV testing procedures with a patient in the waiting room, thereby disclosing PHI to several other individuals. Read More, An investigation of five separate breaches at HIPAA-covered entities owned by Fresenius Medical Care North America revealed multiple HIPAA violations had contributed to the breaches. A covered entitys obligation to comply with all requirements of the Privacy Rule cannot be conditioned on the patients silence. A complainant alleged that a private practice physician denied her access to her medical records, because the complainant had an outstanding balance for services the physician had provided. Read More, Washington, NC-based Metropolitan Community Health Services is a Federally Qualified Health Center. The nurse explained that the two individuals whose . Read More, Cancer Care Group, an Indiana-based radiation oncology private physician practice, has agreed to settle with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights for $750,000, for potential HIPAA violations relating to a 2012 data breach. An OCR investigation indicated that the form the HMO relied on to make the disclosure was not a valid authorization under the Privacy Rule. 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. Read More. An organizations prior history with regard to HIPAA non-compliance can also be a contributory factor in the calculation of penalties for HIPAA violations and therefore a second or subsequent fine will likely be much larger than the first. 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. The case was settled for $15,000. Covered Entity: Private Practice Read More, Office for Civil Rights has issued a statement confirming that an agreement has been reached with Adult & Pediatric Dermatology, P.C., of Concord, Massachusetts following the accidental disclosure of approximately 2,200 patients after a memory stick was stolen from the car of one of the centers employees. The nurse received the board notice for a hearing and the allegations against her, which involved breaching her duty to protect the patients' confidentiality and privacy rights in violation of the state's nurse practice act and administrative rules. The OCR investigation revealed a lack of business associate agreements, insufficient access rights, a risk analysis failure, a failure to respond to a security incident, a breach notification failure, media notification failure. Covered Entity: Private Practice Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Authorizations. Read More, Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas received five requests from a patient for complete records to be provided between June 2019 and January 2020. The patient had requested a copy of her childs fetal heart monitor records, but 9 months after the request had been submitted the records still had not been provided. Covered Entity: Health Care Provider Read More, Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic, P.A., of North Carolina over alleged violations of HIPAA Rules. Read More, Great Expressions Dental Center of Georgia, P.C. Honolulu-based Hawaii Pacific Health fired an employee in March after discovering the employee had inappropriately accessed patient medical records between November 2014 and January 2020. However, up to 500 cases per year result in a fine and/or corrective action being required. An OCR investigation also indicated that the confidential communications requirements were not followed, as the employee left the message at the patients home telephone number, despite the patients instructions to contact her through her work number. OCR intervened and closed the case but received a second complaint a month later when the records had still not been provided. Regulatory Changes
was investigated by OCR in response to a complaint from a patient that she would be charged a fee of $170 for her medical records. The revised policies are applicable to all individual stores in the pharmacy chain. The case was settled for $202,400. Issue: Impermissible Disclosure; Confidential Communications. In 2016, 12 entities agreed to settle their compliance investigations and pay a financial penalty, with one case seeing civil monetary penalties imposed. There may be a viable claim, in some cases, under state laws. 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. That's almost an hour devoted to talking about someone else. The case was settled for $70,000. Department of Justice is the authority that handles all the breach fines and charges for violating HIPAA regulations. Covered Entity: Health Plans The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $32,150. A national health maintenance organization sent explanation of benefits (EOB) by mail to a complainant's unauthorized family member. OCR investigated the allegation and found no evidence that the law firm had impermissibly disclosed the customers PHI. Another way to prevent HIPAA violations on social media is to get proper compliance training for your staff. Criminal HIPAA violations and penalties fall under three tiers: Tier 1: Deliberately obtaining and disclosing PHI without authorization up to one year in jail and a $50,000 fine Tier 2: Obtaining PHI under false pretenses up to five years in jail and a $100,000 fine Reports can be filed either through internal channels or electronically through the Department of Health and Human Services. Read More, An investigation into Anthem Incs massive 78.8 million-record data breach of 2015 revealed multiple HIPAA violations. Had software patches been installed on the computers the malware would not have been unable to infect the PCs. Gossip is a casual conversation about other people which can be positive, neutral, or negative. Anthem agreed to a record-breaking settlement of $16,000,000 to resolve the case. Issue: Impermissible Disclosure-Research. Read more, Dr. Robert Glaser, a New Hyde Park, NY-based cardiovascular disease and internal medicine doctor, failed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records after repeated requests.
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