On November 28, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued proposed changes to regulations implementing amendments Congress made in 2020 to the confidentiality of substance use disorder (SUD) records law. These long-awaited (and overdue) proposals paint an important picture of things to come, especially with respect to enforcement. Below are three key […]
Tag Archives: HIPAA
Effective July 1, 2022, Connecticut’s Reproductive Freedom Act (PA 22-19) expands access to abortion, enhances protections for reproductive healthcare records and provides protections to abortion providers and patients receiving abortion care in the state. Connecticut was the first state to pass such legislation after news of the Dobbs decision leaked. Massachusetts and California followed suit. This […]
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced three more HIPAA Right of Access enforcement resolutions – all against dentists. And the story is largely the same: patients requested records and did not timely or properly receive those records. In one instance, the dental practice significantly overcharged for records. […]
Last week, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reminded us of the importance of the basics when it comes to protecting patient information. On August 23rd, it announced a HIPAA enforcement action involving tangible protected health information (PHI) that a practice tossed out with the rest of the trash. For over a decade, PHI in […]
Healthcare providers carry a heavy load and it just got heavier. In the wake of the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the prohibition and criminalization of abortion in some states, healthcare providers are now burdened with being more vigilant than ever in defending patients’ privacy rights. This is true in all states, even where […]
If you asked me Friday morning of last week to give you my impression of HIPAA enforcement so far in 2022, I would have said “slow.” Up to that point, OCR had announced only four enforcement actions and all on the same day in March (see Three Dentists and a Psychiatrist Walk into a Bar: […]
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance on HIPAA requirements as they relate to audio-only telehealth. Importantly, for the first time, OCR provides insights on its position on the difference between landline and VoIP telecommunication services. OCR’s guidance applies now and after its telehealth enforcement discretion is […]
Three dentists and a psychiatrist walk into a bar . . . and they each walk out with a five-figure tab for HIPAA compliance failures. It’s not funny, but the five-figure payment part is true and there’s a lot to be learned from their mistakes. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil […]
DMC Law is launching Privacy Pointers, which features short and informative videos on various privacy topics. We begin Privacy Pointers with a series of videos on HIPAA’s Right of Access. There are six videos in this series that explore important aspects of the Right of Access. Each video is no more than 5 minutes in length. […]
Here it is! My annual summary of HIPAA enforcement action resolutions. I know you all have been eagerly awaiting its arrival. No plot twists or surprises this year – the enforcement themes are much the same as those in 2020. As I explain below, Right of Access was again the star.