4) Loss or Theft of Devices. Read More, Cancer Care Group, an Indiana-based radiation oncology private physician practice, has agreed to settle with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights for $750,000, for potential HIPAA violations relating to a 2012 data breach. The patient filed a complaint with OCR and the records were eventually provided more than 10 months later. 0:57. The PHI of 58,106 patients was improperly disposed of during that timeframe. Covered Entity: Multi-Hospital Healthcare Provider The pharmacy did not consider the customer's insurance card to be protected health information (PHI). Read More, Catholic Health Care Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has agreed to settle alleged HIPAA violations with the OCR and implement a Corrective Action Plan (CAP). Read More, Elite Primary Care is a provider of primary health services in Georgia. The possibility of HIPAA lawsuits brought forth by patients and breach victims could change HIPAA enforcement. OCR confirmed that PHI had been disclosed without an authorization from the patient and that there had been no sanctions against the physician responsible, despite being warned in advance not to disclose any PHI. Other than stipulating training should be provided as necessary and appropriate for members of the workforce to carry out their functions (HIPAA Privacy Rule) and that CEs and BAs should implement a security awareness and training program for all members of the workforce (HIPAA Security Rule), there are no specific HIPAA training requirements. Read More, OCR received a complaint from a patient of California-based Riverside Psychiatric Medical Group in March 2019 alleging he had not been provided with a copy of his medical records. Covered Entity: Health Care Provider Another potential HIPAA violation that's easily overlooked is discussing information over the phone. After OCR intervened, the records were provided, but it took 22 months from the initial date of the request. OCR determined this breached the HIPAA Right of Access provision of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. OCR received a complaint from a patient who alleged he had been denied access to his medical records. The. HIPAA violations are not uncommon. Reports can be filed either through internal channels or electronically through the Department of Health and Human Services. It did not change the maximum penalty for a violation, which means that the maximum penalty for a tier 1 violation is higher than the annual penalty cap, but for as long as the notice of enforcement discretion is in effect, the maximum penalty per year applies. OCR settled the case for $20,000. Covered Entity: General Hospital To remedy this situation, the private practice revised its policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of PHI and trained all physicians and staff members on the new policies and procedures. Improper Disposal HIPAA rules state medical professionals must dispose of PHI in a secure manner. Pharmacy Chain Revises Process for Disclosures to Law Enforcement The hacker stole data, attempted to extort money, and leaked the ePHI of 208,557 patients online when payment was not received. A good example of this is a laptop that is stolen. 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. Honolulu-based Hawaii Pacific Health fired an employee in March after discovering the employee had inappropriately accessed patient medical records between November 2014 and January 2020. Delaware Co. June 5, 2012). After being notified by OCR about a proposed fine of $105,000, Dr. Brockley requested a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge, but settled out of court and agreed to a fine of $30,000. 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. 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. 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. OCR determined that the private practice denied the individual access to records to which she was entitled by the Privacy Rule. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the pharmacy revised its policies regarding PHI and retrained its staff. All Case Examples. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $30,000. Read more, The Diabetes, Endocrinology & Lipidology Center, Inc, a West Virginia-based healthcare provider specializing in treating endocrine disorders, failed to provide a parent with a copy of her minor childs protected health information within 30 days. 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. One of the most common HIPAA violations is a result of lost company devices. OCRs investigation revealed that: the hospital distributed an Operating Room (OR) schedule to employees via email; the hospitals OR schedule contained information about the complainants upcoming surgery. Anthem agreed to a record-breaking settlement of $16,000,000 to resolve the case. Read More, OCR investigated three breaches involving the loss of a laptop computer and two unencrypted thumb drives containing patients PHI. The claim included the patients test results. Further, the covered entity counseled the supervisor about appropriate use of the medical information of a subordinate. This case study involving one nursing education program's experience with a HIPAA violation illustrates how one nursing college dealt with a student's HIPAA . When notified of the complaint filed with OCR, the dental practice immediately removed the red AIDS sticker from the complainant's file. An outpatient surgical facility disclosed a patient's protected health information (PHI) to a research entity for recruitment purposes without the patient's authorization or an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or privacy-board-approved waiver of authorization. 3 Examples of HIPAA Violation Cases Example #1: When it comes to HIPAA, curiosity can kill the cat or your career. 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: Pharmacy Chain Alternatively, financial penalties can be imposed if a breach of ePHI violates state laws. Within the space of three months, the protected health information of over 7,000 patients was exposed. Read More, The Californian general dental practice, New Vision Dental, was investigated by OCR following reports about impermissible disclosures of patients protected health information on the review platform Yelp. The new procedures were instituted in Medicaid offices and independent health care programs under the jurisdiction of the municipal social service agency. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $10,000. Content created by Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Content last reviewed December 23, 2022. In addition, the covered entity forwarded the complainant a complete copy of the medical record. Read More, OCR has announced a $5.5 million settlement had been reached with Florida-based Memorial Healthcare Systems to resolve potential Privacy Rule and Security Rule violations. The case was settled for $10,000. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required this chain to revise its national policy regarding law enforcement's access to patient protected health information to comply with the Privacy Rule requirements, including that disclosures of protected health information to law enforcement only be made in response to written requests from law enforcement officials, unless state law requires otherwise. OCR intervened and provided technical assistance, but it took 16 months for the records to be provided. A nurse working at a clinic in New York became one of many HIPAA violation examples when her sister-in-law's boyfriend was diagnosed with an STD (sexually transmitted disease). OCR also identified issues with the notice of privacy practices and there was no HIPAA privacy officer. The complainant alleged that a mental health center (the "Center") refused to provide her with a copy of her medical record, including psychotherapy notes. renewals of licenses or APRN authorizations, or both. OCR intervened and provided technical assistance on the HIPAA Right of Access but received a second complaint when the practice continued to deny him access. A contested hearing took place, and the board found the nurse: In nursing education, a HIPAA violation made by a nursing student could result in a variety of disciplinary actions including termination but is rarely discussed in nursing literature. Examples of HIPAA Violations by Nurses Serious violations, even if the intent is not malicious, are likely to result in disciplinary action. OCR investigated and found multiple violations of the HIPAA Rules including a delayed response to a known security breach, risk analysis and risk management failures, and a lack of procedures to monitor information system activity logs. In the first half of 2018, more than 56% of the 4.5 billion compromised data records were from social media incidents. Your Privacy Respected Please see HIPAA Journal privacy policy. 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. The case was settled for $2,300,000. 164.308(a)(1)(ii)(B). Read More, Idaho State Universitys Pocatello Family Medicine Clinic disabled the firewall that was protecting a server containing the medical health records of 17,500 patients. Read more, Denver Retina Center, a Denver, CO-based provider of ophthalmological services, failed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records. Initially, the pharmacy chain refused to acknowledge that the log books contained protected health information. Delivered via email so please ensure you enter your email address correctly. Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility Violations related to HIPAA laws have serious consequences, including job loss and other penalties. Covered Entity: Private Practice While the amendment provisions of the Privacy Rule permit a covered entity to deny an individual's request for an amendment when the covered entity did not create that the portion of the record subject to the request for amendment, no similar provision limits individuals' rights to access their protected health information. Another way to prevent HIPAA violations on social media is to get proper compliance training for your staff. An OCR investigation also indicated that the confidential communications requirements were not followed, as the employee left the message at the patients home telephone number, despite the patients instructions to contact her through her work number. OCR received a complaint from a patient who had not been provided with a copy of his medical records. OCR determined there had been a risk analysis failure and the case was settled for $100,000. Read more, Renown Health, a not-for-profit healthcare network in Northern Nevada, failed to provide a patients attorney with a copy of her medical and billing records within 30 days. Under the revised process, if a subpoena is received that does not meet the requirements of the Privacy Rule, the information is not disclosed; instead, the hospital contacts the party seeking the subpoena and the requirements of the Privacy Rule are explained. Read More, Complete P.T., Pool & Land Physical Therapy, Inc., (CPT) has agreed to pay a fine of $25,000 to the Department of Health and Human Services after the company posted photographs and names of patients on the client testimonial section of its website without first having obtained HIPAA-compliant authorizations from the patients in question.
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