Are You Worried About Health Care Compliance Consequences? Have They Gone Too Far?
By Lance O. Leider, J.D., LL.M., The Health Law Firm From large hospital systems to solo practitioners, there is no escaping health care compliance in the industry. The concept of compliance can spark different thoughts in different people. For example, some believe it is an unnecessary government intrusion and others believe it’s a way to […]
Affinity Health Plan Settles with Government in Photocopier HIPAA Breach Incident Involving Patient Medical Information
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR), and Affinity Health Plan, Inc. (Affinity), reached a settlement for more than $1.2 million for potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability […]
Two Laptops Containing Information of 729,000 Patients Stolen from California Hospital Group
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The personal health information of around 729,000 patients has been compromised following the theft of two laptops. The password-protected computers were taken from an administration building of AHMC Healthcare Inc., a hospital group in Alhambra, California. According to […]
Dermatology Practice Settles with Government After Stolen USB Drive Results in HIPAA Breach
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and Adult & Pediatric Dermatology (APDerm), reached a $150,000 settlement for privacy and security violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). […]
Data Breach at Colorado Hospital Highlights IT Security Risks
By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm A small rural hospital in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, has identified a virus on its computer network that had captured and stored screen shots of protected health information in a hidden file system. The hidden folder was created on Sept. 23, 2013, but was not discovered until […]
HIPAA Fines, Mobile Devices and Risk Assessments: Follow the Steps or Pay the Price
By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm Two separate entities have agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) $1,975,220 in fines collectively. The settlements resolve potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security rules involving stolen, unencrypted […]
Don’t Ring in the New Year with a HIPAA Audit – Safeguard Yourself Now
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Here’s a scary reminder: There are people attempting to hack into electronic health systems every second of every day. Thankfully, most of these attempts are unsuccessful due to the preventive technologies in place to safeguard such information. However, […]
Jury Awards Walgreens Customer $1.44 Million Over HIPAA Violation
By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm and George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law An Indiana jury awarded a Walgreens customer $1.44 million on July 26, 2013, over a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) violation, according to the Indianapolis Star. The […]