HHS Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer on Progress and News at OCR
ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
Podcast - Data Privacy and Tracking Technology Compliance
Patient Data and Privacy
2022 DSIR Deeper Dive: OCR’s Right of Access Initiative
HIPAA Tips With Williams Mullen - Telehealth After the Pandemic
Relaxed HIPAA Restrictions For Providers Using Telehealth
Webinar: Investigating and Resolving Sexual Assaults on Campus
On February 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published a notice in the Federal Register regarding reinstatement of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”)...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") issued a concept paper describing its overarching strategy to address healthcare cybersecurity. The concept paper builds on the Biden-Harris Administration's National...more
The plaintiff’s bar continues to bring new wiretapping claims over pixels and analytics programs in courts around the country, including against hospitals and other entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and...more
The Notifications of Enforcement Discretion issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act during the...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) has announced that several notifications of enforcement discretion issued during the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”) will expire...more
"Rather than reacting, you must be proactive and preventive. By doing this, you will not only be prepared for the potential obstacles that face your company, but you will most likely eliminate obstacles before they appear." ...more
Report on Patient Privacy Volume 22, Number 11. (November 2022) Nearly five years passed from the time the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that three...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced June 10, 2022 that it is producing a video presentation on “recognized security practices” as set forth in the recent amendment of...more
OCR Public Comment on Security Practices and Civil Monetary Penalties - The Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) is seeking information from stakeholders on two aspects of the Health Information Technology for Economic and...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) has issued a formal request for information from the public about how regulated entities are implementing industry recognized security practices. The request for information...more
Covered entities and business associates subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) have the chance to provide input on two amendments to the Health Information Technology for...more
The HHS Office for Civil Rights released, at the end of last year, findings from audits it conducted in 2016 and 2017 of 166 covered entities and 41 business associates. The report represents the periodic audit that the...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued a new guidance regarding HIPAA compliance and the use of cloud computing solutions. The guidance is intended to assist covered entities...more
On September 29, it was revealed that the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will commence Phase 2 of its HIPAA audit program in “early 2016.” OCR’s revelation regarding the Phase 2 audits, which had been the subject of...more
Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (HHS OCR) have recently selected a vendor to conduct the second wave of HIPAA audits. These so-called “Phase 2 Audits” are set to commence...more
Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (HHS OCR) have recently selected a vendor to conduct the second wave of HIPAA audits. These so-called "Phase 2 Audits" are set to commence...more
In light of numerous recent data breaches, cybersecurity has emerged as an issue impacting organizations ranging from the local hardware store to the largest multi-national firms in the world. In short, no industry is immune...more
We have released the inaugural BakerHostetler Data Security Incident Response Report, which provides insights generated from the review of more than 200 incidents that our attorneys advised on in 2014. The report confirms the...more
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued two reports to Congress, as required by the HITECH Act. The compliance report details OCR’s enforcement activities for 2011 and 2012 and...more
To combat new risks associated with rapidly evolving health information technology, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act...more
Recent enforcement actions and the new Omnibus Rule implementing several HITECH obligations highlighted the need for a new look at HIPAA obligations for covered entities and now business associates. HITECH not only raised the...more
Changes to the HIPAA Enforcement Rule - Background: On October 30, 2009, HHS issued an interim final rule revising the Enforcement Rule to incorporate provisions of the HITECH Act. The NPRM then proposed a number of...more
On Friday, January 25, 2013, the Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") published a final rule modifying the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules (the "Final...more
Office of Civil Rights has released additional guidance addressing the de-identification of protected health information in accordance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Covered entities should review their current...more
On November 26, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released long-overdue guidance on how covered entities subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)...more