4 . OCR issued a written analysis and a demand for compliance. The outpatient facility reportedly believed that such disclosures were permitted by the Privacy Rule. The financial penalties imposed by OCR in 2020 for HIPAA Right of Access violations ranged from $15,000 to $160,000 and stemmed from refusals to provide copies of records or long delays. The possibility of HIPAA lawsuits brought forth by patients and breach victims could change HIPAA enforcement. 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 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. Read More, The HHS has announced that Lahey Hospital and Medical Center has agreed to settle a case with the Office for Civil Rights over alleged HIPAA violations following a data breach that occurred in October 2011. Detailed below is a summary of all HIPAA violation cases that have resulted in settlements with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR), including cases that have been pursued by OCR after potential HIPAA violations were discovered during data breach investigations, and investigations of complaints submitted by patients and healthcare employees. Even posts that seem well-meaning can violate privacy and confidentiality. OCR received a complaint from a patient who had not been provided with her medical records after a 2-month wait. 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. OCR attempted to resolve the matter via informal means between November 6, 2015, to August 30, 2016, before issuing a Notice of Proposed Determination on September 30, 2016. A settlement of $500,000 was agreed upon to resolve the alleged HIPAA violations. 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. Without a properly executed agreement, a covered entity may not disclose PHI to its law firm. OCR conducted an investigation into an incident involving a stolen laptop that contained the ePHI of 20,431 patients. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, including mitigation of harm to the complainant, OCR required the Center to revise its procedures regarding patient authorization prior to release of protected health information to an employer. By Jill McKeon. OCRs investigation revealed that the radiology practice had relied upon incorrect billing information from the treating hospital in submitting the claim. OCR determined that there had been an impermissible disclosure of 34,883 patients ePHI due to a lack of encryption. OCR received a complaint from a patient who had not been provided with a copy of his medical records. Issue: Impermissible Disclosure; Confidential Communications. Reports can be filed either through internal channels or electronically through the Department of Health and Human Services. The diagnostic laboratory settled the case with OCR and paid a $16,500 financial penalty. FileFax agreed to settle the alleged HIPAA violations for $100,000. Talking about a patient in a public area where others can hear you is a HIPAA violation. The 2020 increase is largely due to OCRs HIPAA Right of Access enforcement initiative, which was launched in late 2019. Not necessary. Corinne S Kennedy. OCRs investigation revealed that: the hospital distributed an Operating Room (OR) schedule to employees via email; the hospitals OR schedule contained information about the complainants upcoming surgery. 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. Violations related to HIPAA laws have serious consequences, including job loss and other penalties. However, the court also legitimized private cause for action in HIPAA lawsuits, which could set a precedent for HIPAA related legal action. The four categories range from unknowing violations to willful disregard of HIPAA rules. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Safeguards. The table above will be updated when the new penalty amounts for 2023 are finalized by the HHS. Read More, Parkview Healthcare System has agreed to pay an $800,000 settlement for a violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. One of the most common HIPAA violations is a result of lost company devices. Physician Revises Faxing Procedures to Safeguard PHI Read More, OCR announced that it has reached a settlement for $125,000 with a Denver-based healthcare provider, Cornell Pharmacy, following the improper disposal of patient health records. The case was settled and a financial penalty of $28,000 was paid. The directory contained files that included the protected health information (PHI) of 307,839 individuals. Activities considered preparatory to research include: preparing a research protocol; developing a research hypothesis; and identifying prospective research participants. Issue: Access. Technical assistance had previously been provided by OCR, but devices had still not been encrypted. The data breach investigation revealed a substandard security management process and a catalog of HIPAA Security Rule violations. Content created by Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Content last reviewed December 23, 2022. Boston Medical Center agreed to settle the alleged HIPAA violations with OCR for $100,000. 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. Covered Entity: Multi-Hospital Healthcare Provider 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. Read More, Associated Retina Specialists in New York took 5 months to provide a patient with the requested medical records. Read More, Brigham and Womens Hospital was fined for allowing an ABC film crew to record footage of patients as part of the Boston Med TV series, without first obtaining consent from patients. Additionally, in order to prevent similar incidents, the hospital undertook a complete review of the distribution of the OR schedule. Nurse Faced with Jail Time for Violating HIPAA Laws Without appropriate HIPAA training, this case of a HIPAA violation demonstrates how critical it is to train workers before there is an issue. HIPAA Fails Kim Kardashian In 2013, medical employees decided to "Keep Up With The Kardashians," and it cost them their jobs. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has announced that Childrens Medical Center of Dallas has paid a civil monetary penalty of $3.2 million to resolve multiple HIPAA violations spanning several years. 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 OCR investigation determined 577 patients had been affected, but Sentara Hospitals refused to update its breach notice to reflect the correct number of patients affected. A chain pharmacy disclosed protected health information to municipal law enforcement officials in a manner that did not conform to the provisions of the Privacy Rule. Covered Entity: General Hospital 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. > HIPAA Compliance and Enforcement 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201 Toll Free Call Center: 1-800-368-1019 OCR intervened and closed the case but received a second complaint 6 months after the first stating the records had still not been provided. Hospital Revises Email Distribution as a Result of a Disclosure to Persons Without a "Need to Know" This usually happens when a celebrity checks into the hospital, but that's not always the case. Washington, D.C. 20201 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. 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. 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. OCR investigated and identified longstanding, systemic noncompliance with the HIPAA Security Rule, including risk analysis and risk management failures, and the failure to provide security awareness training to employees. It took 564 days from the initial request for all of the records to be provided to the patient. Read More, Washington, NC-based Metropolitan Community Health Services is a Federally Qualified Health Center. Convicted of a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, and duties of an RN: Covered Entity: Pharmacies OCR settled the case for $50,000. Read More, CHSPSC LLC isa Tennessee-based management companythat provides services to affiliates of Community Health Systems. Read More, Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic, P.A., of North Carolina over alleged violations of HIPAA Rules. In addition, OCR determined there had been risk analysis failures, a risk management failure, and a lack of device media controls. In 2016, 12 entities agreed to settle their compliance investigations and pay a financial penalty, with one case seeing civil monetary penalties imposed. Read More, After the permanent closure of the company, paperwork containing former patients PHI was discarded by FileFax. Therefore you should assess employees security awareness as part of a risk analysis to see if more training is required. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Safeguards. 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. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the pharmacy revised its policies regarding PHI and retrained its staff. Jail Nursing: No Deliberate Issue: Conditioning Compliance with the Privacy Rule. 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. On September 29, 2011, a portable USB storage device (pen drive) was left overnight in the IT Department from where it was stolen. Read More, A patient of Elite Dental Associates submitted a complaint to OCR stating her PHI had been disclosed by Elite Dental Associates in response to a review on Yelp. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, a letter of reprimand was placed in the supervisor's personnel file and the supervisor received additional training about the Privacy Rule. Read More, MelroseWakefield Healthcare in Massachusetts received a valid request from a personal representative of a patient on June 12, 2020, but it took until October 20, 2020, for the requested records to be provided due to an error regarding the legality of the durable power of attorney. 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. In case you aren't sure what I mean regarding judgment and professional boundaries: Nurses need to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Health care providers (persons and units) that provide, bill for and are paid for health care and transmit Protected Health Information (governs how individuals can use and disclose confidential patient information) in connection with certain transactions are required to comply with the privacy and security regulations established according to the Health Insurance Portability and . OCR settled the case for $65,000. In the first half of 2018, more than 56% of the 4.5 billion compromised data records were from social media incidents. Large Provider Revises Patient Contact Process to Reflect Requests for Confidential Communications So-mogye v. Toledo Clinic, 2012 WL 2191279 (N.D. Ohio, June 14, 2012). After the investigation, Ms D was informed that she was being terminated from her job based on her violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) for . The private practice maintained that the disclosure to the contract research organization was permissible as a review preparatory to research. Therefore, it . Read More, Exposure of ePHI as a direct result of the failure to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis and a security assessment on a server prior to using it to share files containing ePHI. Read more, OCR investigated a breach reported by the Department of Veteran Affairs involving a business associate, Authentidate Holding Corporation. St. Joseph Health has agreed to pay OCR $2,140,500. A settlement of $1,700,000 has been agreed upon with OCR to resolve the HIPAA violations that contributed to the cause of the breach. Read More, An article published in the LA Times started a sequence of events that has now resulted in Shasta Regional Medical Center (SRMC) agreeing to a settlement of $275,000 for its violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. OCR discovered risk analysis failures, a lack of policies covering electronic devices, a lack of encryption or alternative safeguards, insufficient security policies, and insufficient physical safeguards, resulting in an impermissible disclosure of 521 individuals PHI. Also, computer screens displaying patient information were easily visible to patients. Covered Entity: Pharmacy Chain The case was settled for $1,000,000. 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). OCR investigated the incident and discovered risk analysis and risk management failures, insufficient information system activity logging and monitoring, missing business associate agreements, and employees had not been provided with HIPAA Privacy Rule training. OCR determined there had been a failure to protect patient information which resulted in an impermissible disclosure of 2,150 patient records. Alternatively, financial penalties can be imposed if a breach of ePHI violates state laws. Read More, OCR received a complaint from a patient of NY Spine, a private New York medical practice, who alleged she had not been provided with a copy of the diagnostic films that she specifically requested. Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility OCR settled the case for $55,000. A state health sciences center disclosed protected health information to a complainant's employer without authorization. Covered Entity: Private Practice OCR received a complaint from a patient who alleged AIMS refused to give her a copy of her medical records. North Memorial has agreed to pay $1,550,000 to OCR to settle the HIPAA violation charges. 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. The office informed all its employees of the incident and counseled staff on proper faxing procedures. Hackers used a compromised username and password to gain access to a server that contained the protected health information (PHI) of 3.5 million individuals. Further information on the penalties for HIPAA violations are detailed here. Fresenius Medical Care North America settled the case for $3,500,000. HIPAA calls for civil fines up to $25,000 per violation to be paid by the employer, and criminal fines up to $250,000 to be paid by the employer and/or the individual. OCR settled the case for $30,000. OCR determined this breached the HIPAA Right of Access provision of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Among other corrective action taken, the Center provided the complainant with a copy of her medical record and revised its policies and procedures to ensure that it provides timely access to all individuals. A penalty of $2.7 million will be paid by OHSU to settle alleged HIPAA violations without admission of liability. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Authorizations. November 16, 2022. The nonprofit teaching hospital has also agreed to adopt the OCRs corrective action plan to address HIPAA-compliance issues discovered by OCR investigators. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced yesterday that the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) has agreed to settle alleged HIPAA violations and will pay a financial penalty of $2.75 million. Read More, The University of Washington Medicine has agreed to settle with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and will pay a HIPAA fine of $750,000 for potential HIPAA violations stemming from a 90,000-record data breach suffered in 2013. To sign up for updates or to access your subscriber preferences, please enter your contact information below. If an organization fails to take corrective action after having been issued a fine, the HHS Office of Civil Rights can impose subsequent fines. Read More, Skagit County, Washington is paying the price for failing to implement the appropriate controls and safeguards to protect the data it held. These cases include civil monetary penalties, where it has been established that HIPAA Rules have been violated, and settlements, where HIPAA violations have been alleged to have occurred but the covered entity or business associate has decided not to contest the case and has instead chosen to pay a financial penalty to resolve the potential HIPAA violations with no admission of liability. OCR determined this violated the HIPAA Right of Access provision of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. 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. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was ordered to pay a civil monetary penalty of $4,348,000. The. Further, the covered entity's Privacy Officer and other representatives met with the patient and apologized, and followed the meeting with a written apology. OCR investigated and found the EHR company had been allowed access to ePHI without signing a business associate agreement and risk analysis and risk management failures.