OCR continues with vigorous enforcement of HIPAA’s Right of Access rules in 2021. In the first three months of the year, OCR announced five Right of Access settlements. The story is nearly identical in each – a patient requests records and a provider fails to timely provide access. Compliance with the Right of Access rules is relatively simple and one of the best ways to avoid unwanted attention from OCR.
On-demand access to March 2, 2021 webinar on treatment disclosures under HIPAA based on recent developments.
Despite the pandemic, HIPAA enforcement was hot in 2020. There were nearly twice as many enforcement action resolutions last year than in each of the previous three years. The DHHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which enforces HIPAA, announced a total of 19 resolutions in 2020. The 2020 resolutions offer different lessons from previous enforcement years, as the most common issue for enforcement in 2020 is relatively new: the Right of Access under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
Written in collaboration with Erin MacLean, JD, CHC, CHPC. Over the past several weeks, many have been focused on the proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule announced in mid-December. While the proposed changes warrant attention and comment, the commentary to those proposed changes from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) must not be overlooked. In its commentary, OCR provides valuable insights on its interpretation of a provider’s ability to disclose information to third parties under HIPAA’s current treatment exception, including a provider’s ability to share protected health information (PHI) with non-healthcare providers without an authorization.
OCR announced its first HIPAA enforcement resolution of 2021. Picking up where it left off in 2020, this settlement involves Right of Access claims and results in a large non-profit health system with several affiliated covered entities agreeing to pay $200,000 to settle claims related to two of its affiliated entities.
I learned a lot about the people who visit my blog based on the popularity of my posts. First, I learned that my visitors are far more interested when I involve others (or have someone else write the post all together!). Second, my visitors are more likely to read a blog post on how I feel about my work than the actual substance of my work. I will keep these points in mind for 2021, but I’m still going to write a lot about HIPAA and health privacy because I think it’s interesting (although, I admit, I may be the only one).
Two years after issuing a request for information seeking feedback on possible changes to HIPAA and smack dab in the middle of a global pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced major proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The proposed changes focus on coordination of care and significant revisions to the patient right of access provisions, including shortening the timeframe to respond to patient requests for records to 15 days and permitting patients to take photos or videos of their PHI.
On November 19, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced its 10th HIPAA Right of Access settlement of the year. OCR publicized its first five Right of Access settlements this year just over two months ago. It added two more in October and then three in November. And with a full month left in 2020, there may be more to come.
Right of Access enforcement is climbing and fast. Last week, OCR announced its 9th Right of Access resolution this year and its 11th such resolution since the Right of Access enforcement initiative began in 2019. Right of Access enforcement is swift, driven by patient complaints and has cost provider 9 providers a combined total of nearly half a million in settlement costs this year.
Historically, it often takes the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) five or more years to complete an investigation, bring an enforcement action and announce a resolution. That’s changing.