The 2020 increase is largely due to OCRs HIPAA Right of Access enforcement initiative, which was launched in late 2019. Disciplinary Actions and Reinstatements - California A settlement of $150,000 has been reached with OCR. OCR clarified that an individual's health insurance card meets the statutory definition of PHI and, as such, needs to be safeguarded. In many cases, records were only provided after OCR intervened. By increasing its enforcement activity, OCR is sending a message to all covered entities, large and small, that violations of HIPAA Rules will not be tolerated. The case was settled for $6,850,000. Gossip HIPAA Violations: When, Where, How and Why Etactics It took 5 months from the initial request for the complete set of medical records to be provided. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required the outpatient facility to: revise its written policies and procedures regarding disclosures of PHI for research recruitment purposes to require valid written authorizations; retrain its entire staff on the new policies and procedures; log the disclosure of the patient's PHI for accounting purposes; and send the patient a letter apologizing for the impermissible disclosure. Outpatient Surgical Facility Corrects Privacy Procedure in Research Recruitment OCR provided technical assistance to the covered entity regarding the requirement that covered entities seeking to disclose PHI for research recruitment purposes must obtain either a valid patient authorization or an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or privacy-board-approved alteration to or waiver of authorization. Read More, Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas received five requests from a patient for complete records to be provided between June 2019 and January 2020. A nurse in a New York clinic found herself at the center of an ugly HIPAA violation case when her sister-in-law's boyfriend was diagnosed with an STD. In 2012 it suffered a security breach that exposed the data of 2,700 individuals as a result of a malware infection. OCR also found the Notice of Privacy Practices to be inadequate. The case was settled for $100,000. To resolve this matter, the mental health center revised its intake assessment policy and procedures to specify that the notice will be provided and the clinician will attempt to obtain a signed acknowledgement of receipt of the notice prior to the intake assessment. CHCS also failed to implement appropriate security measures to address risks to ePHI in accordance with 45 C.F.R. Read more, Ridgewood, NJ-based Village Plastic Surgeryfailed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records. But violations are also quite serious. 2020-2021 HIPAA Violation Cases and Penalties - HIPAA Journal Read More, Hillcrest Nursing and Rehabilitation in Massachusetts received a request from a parent for her sons medical records onMarch 22, 2020, but the records were not provided until October 10, 2020. The ePHI of 62,500 patients was exposed. The center also provided OCR with written assurance that all policy changes were brought to the attention of the staff involved in the daughters care and then disseminated to all staff affected by the policy change. A violation due to willful neglect which is not corrected within thirty days will attract the maximum fine of $50,000. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the HMO created a new HIPAA-compliant authorization form and implemented a new policy that directs staff to obtain patient signatures on these forms before responding to any disclosure requests, even if patients bring in their own authorization form. The Most Common HIPAA Violations in the Workplace - Factorial 3 Examples of HIPAA Violation Cases Example #1: When it comes to HIPAA, curiosity can kill the cat or your career. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has taken action against a Denver, CO-based federally-qualified health center (FQHC) for security management process failures that contributed to the organization experiencing a data breach in 2011. A public hospital, in response to a subpoena (not accompanied by a court order), impermissibly disclosed the protected health information (PHI) of one of its patients. HIPAA Journal states that if a nurse violates HIPAA, it is important that the incident is reported to the person responsible for HIPAA compliance in your facility or your supervisor. Issue: Impermissible Disclosure; Confidential Communications. Paige. In 2015, Premera discovered there had been a breach of the ePHI of 10,466,692 individuals. Yes. 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. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OR for $75,000. Court Holds Up Termination for Nurse HIPAA Violation An ABC crew was permitted to film inside NYP facilities for the show NY Med featuring Dr. Mehmet Oz. 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. Social Media HIPAA Violations by Nurses - Law Office of Nicole Irmer The case was settled for $3 million. Data were accessed by unknown third parties after ePHI data was unwittingly transferred to a server accessible to the public. Convicted of a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, and duties of an RN: Clinic Sanctions Supervisor for Accessing Employee Medical Record HIPAA Journal's goal is to assist HIPAA-covered entities achieve and maintain compliance with state and federal regulations governing the use, storage and disclosure of PHI and PII. HIPAA Advice, Email Never Shared Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Safeguards. Presence Health took three months to issue breach notifications when the Breach Notification Rule requires notifications to be sent within 60 days of the discovery of a breach. Read More, Beth Israel Lahey Health Behavioral Services (BILHBS) is the largest provider of mental health and substance use disorder services in eastern Massachusetts. OCR discovered a risk analysis failure, the lack of a security awareness training program, and a failure to implement HIPAA Security Rule policies and procedures. Staff Nurse Faces Jail Time for HIPAA Violations Issue: Access. 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. Disastrous HIPAA Violation Cases | 7 Cases to Learn From Cornell Pharmacy is a single-location healthcare provider that mostly serves hospice care organizations in Denver and provides compound medications. Shaila Mae. An organizations willingness to assist with an investigation is also taken into account. Read More, ACPM Podiatry in Illinois did not provide a former patient with his requested records, and despite the intervention of OCR, the patient was still not provided with the requested records due to the non-payment of a bill by the insurance company. Read More, Lawrence Bell, Jr. D.D.S in Maryland failed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records. In the first half of 2018, more than 56% of the 4.5 billion compromised data records were from social media incidents. In addition, the covered entity forwarded the complainant a complete copy of the medical record. September 05, 2017 - A Kentucky hospital was found to have acted lawfully when it fired a nurse for committing a HIPAA violation, according to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. 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. Large Medicaid Plan Corrects Vulnerability that Resulted in Dsiclosure to Non-BA Vendors Among the corrective actions required to resolve this case, OCR required the insurer to correct the flaw in its computer system, review all transactions for a six month period and correct all corrupted patient information. The case was settled for $65,000. In the majority of cases, the agency resolves the complaints without the need for an investigation or finds no HIPAA violation exists. The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has revealed a $65,000 HIPAA violation settlement has been agreed with West Georgia Ambulance, Inc., to address multiple breaches of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Rules. Read More, OCR launched an investigation of University of Rochester Medical Center following receipt of two breach reports concerning lost/stolen portable devices containing ePHI a flash drive and a laptop computer. Hipaa Violation summary -Shaila - Shaila Mae Health care providers Moreover, the entity was required to train of all staff on the revised policy. Also, computer screens displaying patient information were easily visible to patients. In April 2019, OCR reexamined the HITECH Act and determined the language had been misinterpreted and issued a Notice of Enforcement Discretion stating the maximum annual penalties in each penalty tier would be changed to reflect the seriousness of the violations. OCR investigated and discovered similar privacy violations had occurred responding to patient reviews. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $30,000. Maybe PHI was in the background unknowingly. OCRs investigators identified a risk analysis failure, a lack of reviews of system activity, a failure to verify identity for access to PHI, and insufficient technical safeguards. Background: Inappropriate use of social media necessitates health institutes, academic institutes, nurses and educators to consider occupational ethical principles while creating a policy and guide on the usage of social media. In addition to corrective action taken under the Privacy Rule, the state attorney general's office entered into a monetary settlement agreement with the patient. Case Examples by Covered Entity. Comments and replies to someone else's post, chat room gossip (even if it's a private room) or leaving a review on a site like Yelp opens the door for potential HIPAA violations. OCR's investigation confirmed that the use and disclosure of protected health information by the supervisor was not authorized by the employee and was not otherwise permitted by the Privacy Rule. 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. Covered Entity: Pharmacies Covered Entity: Health Plans Hospital Revises Email Distribution as a Result of a Disclosure to Persons Without a "Need to Know" In case you aren't sure what I mean regarding judgment and professional boundaries: Nurses need to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Issue: Impermissible Use. Fresenius Medical Care North America settled the case for $3,500,000. OCR determined there had been a risk analysis failure and the case was settled for $100,000. OCR determined this breached the HIPAA Right of Access provision of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. OCR intervened but received a second complaint a month later when the records had still not been provided. The case was settled for $160,000. Case Examples. It took 8 months from the date of the first request for the records to be provided. The HIPAA Journal is the leading provider of news, updates, and independent advice for HIPAA compliance. In addition, OCR required the practice to reposition its computer monitors to prevent patients from viewing information on the screens, and the practice installed computer monitor privacy screens to prevent impermissible disclosures. 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). Triple S was also required to pay a HIPAA violation penalty of $6.8 million to the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration for a failure to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Acts Privacy Rule last year, although the HIPAA violation fine was reduced to $1.5 million on appeal. The settlement stems from an impermissible disclosure in a press release issued by MHHS in September 2015. Covered Entity: General Hospitals 1. The case was settled for $2,300,000. A staff member of a medical practice discussed HIV testing procedures with a patient in the waiting room, thereby disclosing PHI to several other individuals. The settlement resolves HIPAA violations that contributed to the university experiencing a malware infection in 2013. Gossip is a casual conversation about other people which can be positive, neutral, or negative. Termination for Nurse HIPAA Violation Upheld by Court Read More, In March 2019, OCR received a complaint from a patient who alleged she had not been provided with a copy of her medical records in the requested electronic format despite making repeated requests. 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. Violating HIPAA law can result in fines, job termination, loss of licensure, and criminal charges. OCR also determined that the Center denied the complainant's request for access because her therapists believed providing the records to her would likely cause her substantial harm. 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 Between 2005 and 2019, healthcare data breaches affected nearly 250 million people. An OCR investigation confirmed allegations that a dental practice flagged some of its medical records with a red sticker with the word "AIDS" on the outside cover, and that records were handled so that other patients and staff without need to know could read the sticker. Fired after violating a patient's privacy - Clinical Advisor What happens if a nurse violates HIPAA? - HIPAA Guide A private practice failed to honor an individual's request for a complete copy of her minor son's medical record. 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, Orlando, FL-based primary care provider, Health Specialists of Central Florida Inc., was investigated by OCR after receipt of a complaint from a woman who had not been provided with a copy of her deceased fathers medical records. Since HIPAA's enactment in 1996, we've witnessed almost 20 reported cases of unauthorized personnel looking up the medical records of celebrities. Below are details of 47 incidents since 2012 in which workers at nursing homes and assisted-living centers shared photos or videos of residents on social media networks. A Nurse's Guide to the Use of Social Media discusses the case of a hospice nurse whose cancer patient had posted about her depression. By Jill McKeon. Question: Dear Nancy, Can an RN lose his or her nursing license over a HIPAA violation? The penalties for HIPAA violations through the OCR are as follows: Tier 1: Minimum fine of $100 per violation, up to $50,000 Tier 2: Minimum fine of $1,000 per violation, up to $50,000 Tier 3: Minimum fine of $10,000 per violation, up to $50,000 Tier 4: Minimum fine of $50,000 per violation
