OCR

OCR Settlement a Message to Providers: Every Day Counts to Notify Affected Persons After a HIPAA Data Breach

Margaret Young Levi Data Privacy & Security, HIPAA, Privacy & Security , , , ,

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) entered into a settlement with Presence Health Network relating to its failure to provide timely notification of a breach of unsecured protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA). OCR data breach settlements typically concern a covered entity’s failure to properly secure protected health information; this marks the first settlement involving a provider’s failure to report a data breach in a timely manner.

Under the HIPAA Breach Notification Rules, covered entities must provide notification of a breach without unreasonable delay and in no case later than 60 days following the discovery of a breach to affected individuals, and, in breaches affecting more than 500 individuals, to OCR and the media.

Presence Health is a not-for-profit health system serving 150 locations in Illinois. Presence Health first discovered that some paper copies of its surgery schedules at one location were missing on October 22, 2013, and these documents contained the protected health information of 836 individuals. The information consisted of the Continue reading →

Recent OIG Studies Recommend Tighter Enforcement of the Privacy and Security Rules

Margaret Young Levi Federal Law Resources , , , , , ,

The U.S. Department for Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has conducted two recent studies calling for tighter enforcement of the Privacy and Security Rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

OCR Should Strengthen Its Oversight of Covered Entities’
Compliance With the HIPAA Privacy Standards

In the first study, the OIG recommends that the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), the government agency responsible for enforcing covered entities’ compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Standards, should strengthen its oversight of these privacy standards. The OIG reviewed a statistical sample of privacy cases investigated by the OCR from September 2009 through March 2011, surveyed and interviewed OCR staff, reviewed the OCR’s investigation policies, and surveyed providers’ compliance with five selected privacy standards.

Based upon this review, the OIG concluded that OCR should strengthen its oversight of covered entities’ compliance with the Privacy Rule. It criticized the OCR’s oversight as “primarily reactive” and suggested they be more Continue reading →

Federal Government Report Summarizes Health Care Privacy Compliance Efforts

Margaret Young Levi Electronic Health Records, Federal Law Resources, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law , , , , , , ,

government buildingThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued two reports to Congress required by Section 13402(i) of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act:

–“Annual Report to Congress on Breaches of Unsecured Protected Health Information For Calendar Years 2011 and 2012” (the Breach Report); and

–“Annual Report to Congress on HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rule Compliance For Calendar Years 2011 and 2012” (the Compliance Report).

Both of OCR’s reports (as well as previous annual reports) may be accessed here. This post discusses the Compliance Report. We summarized the Breach Report in a separate post entitled “Federal Government Report on Data Breaches in Health Care.”

OCR is the office responsible for administering and enforcing the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. The Compliance Report summarizes OCR’s compliance and enforcement activity with respect to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules.

Continue reading →