On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a final rule (the “Final Rule”) along with guidance updating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) regulations at...more
On April 22, 2024, the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a final rule enhancing privacy protections relating to reproductive health care. Specifically, the final rule...more
HIPAA privacy rules do not prevent employers and businesses from asking employees and visitors about their COVID-19 vaccination status, the government recently reiterated. In guidance issued on September 30, 2021, the U.S....more
On September 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR)issued guidance to help the public understand when the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996...more
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic visited on America in the past several months has quickly reinvigorated the foundational and important debate concerning where, in a free society, individual autonomy ends (or should end) and...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a Request for Information (RFI) regarding how the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules could be modified to reduce regulatory burdens and to...more
The US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights recently posted guidance clarifying that a business associate such as an information technology vendor generally may not block or terminate access by a...more
On October 7, 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published guidance to assist cloud service providers (CSPs) and their customers with HIPAA compliance. As discussed below,...more
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has published answers to some frequently asked questions about an individual’s right to access identifiable health information. Are the FAQs boring? Absolutely. But are they...more
For only the second time in its history, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has imposed a civil money penalty (CMP) on a covered entity for allegedly violating the HIPAA...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
On September 2, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that Cancer Care Group, P.C. (CCG), a physician practice located in Indiana, agreed to pay $750,000 as part of a settlement to resolve...more
The September 23, 2013 deadline for covered entities, business associates and their subcontractors to implement the new HIPAA rules is approaching quickly. In case you missed it, on January 25, 2013, the U.S. Department of...more
On January 25, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published final regulations that modify the Privacy, Security, Enforcement and Breach Notification Rules issued pursuant to the Health Insurance...more
On January 25, 2013, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule (Final Rule) containing modifications to the privacy standards (Privacy Rule), security...more
As we have reported in this blog, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently released final regulations containing modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and...more
Originally posted in Hartford Business Journal on February 11th, 2013. Attention all medical providers, hospitals and any other covered entity or business associate under HIPAA. On Jan. 17, the U.S. Department of Health...more
In This Issue: - Expansion of, Clarifications to, and Explicit Inclusions in the Definition of BA - BAs’ Direct Liability Under the Final Rule - BAAs: Required Provisions Under the Final Rule and the Compliance Date ...more
Four years ago, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) introduced major revisions to the Privacy and Security Rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of...more
HHS has finally issued its omnibus HITECH Rules. Our firm will issue a comprehensive summary of the rules shortly, but of immediate import is the change to the breach reporting harm threshold. The modification will make it...more