Read more, Rainrock Treatment Center LLC (dba Monte Nido Rainrock), a Eugene, OR-based provider of residential eating disorder treatment services, failed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records after repeated requests. On Tuesday, the Department of Justice said Jeffrey Parker of Rincon . OCR also identified issues with the notice of privacy practices and a HIPAA privacy officer had not been appointed. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the pharmacy revised its policies regarding PHI and retrained its staff. The HHS` Office of Civil Rights receives between 1,200 and 1,500 complaints and notifications of breaches per year. Serious violations, even if the intent is not malicious, are likely to result in disciplinary action. OCRs investigation revealed periodic technical and non-technical evaluations of operational changes affecting the security of their electronic PHI had not been performed, procedures had not been implemented to verify the identity of individuals accessing their ePHI, there was a lack of ePHI safeguards, and Aetna had violated the minimum necessary standard. OCR intervened and provided technical assistance on the HIPAA Right of Access but received a second complaint when the practice continued to deny him access. For one violation, fines can range from $100-$50,000 for each instance of wrongdoing. In April, nurses on the night shift at Denver Health Medical Center were caught making inappropriate comments about a male patient's genitalia, according to a report from the Colorado Department. Issue: Impermissible Disclosure-Research. Under the Notice of Enforcement Discretion, the maximum annual penalty for a violation could be capped at $25,000 for tier 1, $100,000 for tier 2, and $250,000 for tier 3. 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 Board can report disciplinary actions to other agencies that oversee nursing licenses. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures. Shaila Mae. In nursing education, a HIPAA violation made by a nursing student could result in a variety of disciplinary actions including termination but is rarely discussed in nursing literature. Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility A nurse in a New York clinic found herself at the center of an ugly HIPAA violation case when her sister-in-law's boyfriend was diagnosed with an STD. A settlement of $85,000 was agreed upon with OCR to resolve the HIPAA violation. Read More, Hillcrest Nursing and Rehabilitation in Massachusetts received a request from a parent for her sons medical records onMarch 22, 2020, but the records were not provided until October 10, 2020. Read More, Complete P.T., Pool & Land Physical Therapy, Inc., (CPT) has agreed to pay a fine of $25,000 to the Department of Health and Human Services after the company posted photographs and names of patients on the client testimonial section of its website without first having obtained HIPAA-compliant authorizations from the patients in question. 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. Lincare Inc. is required to pay $239,800 for violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule which were discovered during the investigation of a complaint about a breach of 278 patient records. 4) Loss or Theft of Devices. MAPFRE has agreed to a $2,200,000 settlement with OCR. Unprotected storage of private health information can be an issue. A mental health center did not provide a notice of privacy practices (notice) to a father or his minor daughter, a patient at the center. Case Examples by Issue. 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. 4 . Read More, Elite Primary Care is a provider of primary health services in Georgia. Read More, CHSPSC LLC isa Tennessee-based management companythat provides services to affiliates of Community Health Systems. HIPAA violation penalties are tiered based on the level of negligence determined by the Department of Health and Human Services or the state attorney general. OCR's investigation determined that a flaw in the health plan's computer system put the protected health information of approximately 2,000 families at risk of disclosure in violation of the Rule. A private practice failed to honor an individual's request for a complete copy of her minor son's medical record. A hospital employee did not observe minimum necessary requirements when she left a telephone message with the daughter of a patient that detailed both her medical condition and treatment plan. In response to OCRs investigation, the mental health center acknowledged that it had not provided the complainant and his daughter with a notice prior to her mental health evaluation. OCR stepped up enforcement of compliance with the HIPAA Rules in 2016, more than doubling the number of financial penalties. Read More, QCA Health Plan, Inc. of Arkansas reported the theft of a laptop from a car that contained unencrypted data on 148 patients. 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. Issue: Impermissible Use. Read More, A HIPAA settlement of $218,400 has been reached with St. Elizabeth Medical Center (SEMC) for violations of HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. OCR determined the failure to terminate access rights when employment had ended was in violation of the HIPAA Security Rule. OCR investigated Peachstate and uncovered multiple potential violations of the HIPAA Security Rule. Read More, Lawrence Bell, Jr. D.D.S in Maryland failed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records. The four categories range from unknowing violations to willful disregard of HIPAA rules. The acknowledgement form is now included in the intake package of forms. Five former Methodist employees have been indicted on charges . The revised policies are applicable to all individual stores in the pharmacy chain. 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. Regulatory Changes Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has taken action against a Denver, CO-based federally-qualified health center (FQHC) for security management process failures that contributed to the organization experiencing a data breach in 2011. A violation that occurred despite reasonable vigilance can attract a fine of $1,000 $50,000. 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. The failure to cooperate with the investigation and respond to an administrative subpoena resulted in a civil monetary penalty of $50,000. The investigation also indicated that the disclosures did not meet the Rules de-identification standard and therefore were not permissible without the individuals authorization. Health Plan Corrects Impermissible Disclosure of PHI through Training, Mitigation, and Sanctions Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required this chain to revise its national policy regarding law enforcement's access to patient protected health information to comply with the Privacy Rule requirements, including that disclosures of protected health information to law enforcement only be made in response to written requests from law enforcement officials, unless state law requires otherwise. OCR intervened and closed the case but received a second complaint two months later when the records had still not been provided. OCR determined the lack of encryption was in violation of the HIPAA Security Rule, there were insufficient device and media controls, and a business associate agreement had not been entered into with its parent company. Paige. Fines for "reasonable cause" violations range from $100 to $50,000. The Notice of Enforcement Discretion only applied a cap to each violation tier. National Pharmacy Chain Extends Protections for PHI on Insurance Cards Covered Entity: Private Practice Read more, The owner of the Fairhope, AL, dental practice impermissibly disclosed patients PHI to a campaign manager and a third-party marketing company in relation to a state senate election campaign. Jail Nursing: No Deliberate HMORevises Process to Obtain Valid Authorizations renewals of licenses or APRN authorizations, or both. The case was settled for $70,000. The possibility of HIPAA lawsuits brought forth by patients and breach victims could change HIPAA enforcement. A private practice physician who was the principal investigator of a clinical research study disclosed a list of patients and diagnostic codes to a contract research organization to telephone patients for recruitment purposes. 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. A settlement of $500,000 was agreed upon to resolve the alleged HIPAA violations. Read More, Great Expressions Dental Center of Georgia, P.C. This discrepancy is expected to be addressed through further rulemaking to make the new penalty structure permanent. The minimum fines are $100 per violation for tier 1, $1,000 per violation for tier 2, $10,000 per violation for tier 3, and $50,000 per violation for tier 4. Covered Entity: Private Practice OCR also found the Notice of Privacy Practices to be inadequate. Lahey Hospital and Medical Center has agreed to pay $850,000 to settle the case without admission of liability. Prison Time for Scheme to Frame Nurse for HIPAA Violations. In 2013 and 2015, protections on servers were accidentally removed and files containing ePHI could be accessed over the internet without the need for a username or password. Corinne S Kennedy. In 2017, Lifespan mentioned in a news release that someone broke into an employee vehicle and stole their work laptop. The case was settled for $100,000. In addition, the employee who made the disclosure was counseled and given a written warning. OCR determined this breached the HIPAA Right of Access provision of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the HMO created a new HIPAA-compliant authorization form and implemented a new policy that directs staff to obtain patient signatures on these forms before responding to any disclosure requests, even if patients bring in their own authorization form. OCR intervened and closed the case but received a second complaint a year later alleging the records had still not been provided. OCR required the covered entity to cease using the patient agreement that conditioned the entitys compliance with the Privacy Rule. OCR settled the case for $3,500. Memorial Hermann Health System has agreed to pay OCR $2,400,000. So-mogye v. Toledo Clinic, 2012 WL 2191279 (N.D. Ohio, June 14, 2012). OCR determined its compliance program had been in disarray for several years. OCR settled the case for $55,000. It took multiple requests and almost 5 months for all of the requested medical records to be provided. OCR determined this fee to be unreasonable and that there had been a 15-month delay in providing the patient with the requested records. A contested hearing took place, and the board found the nurse: The device contained a range of patients ePHI, including full names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth. 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. Gossip is a casual conversation about other people which can be positive, neutral, or negative. The case was settled with OCR for $30,000. Read More, Phoenix, AZ-based Banner Health is one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States. $("#wpforms-form-28602 .wpforms-submit-container").appendTo(".submit-placement"); Covered Entity: General Hospital Settlements have previously been agreed upon with healthcare providers, health plans, and business associates of covered entities, but this is the first time OCR has settled potential HIPAA violations with a wireless health services provider.
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