HSS Withdraws Proposed Rule Following Public Concerns
In January 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a new rule for certification of compliance for health plans to be introduced into…
HIPAA News
TheDarkOverlord Makes Another Extortion Attempt
TheDarkOverlord is a hacking group that has been involved in many high-profile cases in recent months, from allegedly accessing the British Royal family’s healthcare information…
HHS Announces Third Hurricane-Related HIPAA Waiver This Year
In response to the devastating Hurricanes Harvey and Irma that hit the United States earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services…
AHA Responds to Increased Regulations on Hospitals
The American Hospital Association (AHA) recently sent an open letter to the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, in which they suggested several steps that…
Partial Waiver of HIPAA Privacy Rule Penalties Issued Following Hurricane Harvey
The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a waiver of sanctions and penalties for violations of HIPAA’s Privacy Rule in the Hurricane Harvey…
Delaware Updates Breach Notification Law
Delaware has amended its data breach notification law by introducing some of the strictest requirements of any state. It is the first time in a…
Jessie’s Law Passed by U.S. Senate
Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, both of West Virginia, have announced that Jessie’s Law has been passed by the Senate. The legislation was…
OCR Data Breach Portal Updated
In June 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed it was contemplating updating its data breach portal. This section is commonly referred…
OCR’s “Wall of Shame” Under Scrutiny
The Office for Civil Rights’ “Wall of Shame” was established in December 2009. This data portal contained summaries of healthcare data breaches published on the…
Mississippi DOM Breaches HIPAA due to Email Error
Earlier this month, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid (DOM) announced that over 5,000 Medicaid recipients have had some of their protected health information (PHI) exposed….
Data on Most Common Types of PHI Breach Released
The Department of Health and Human Services has recently released data revealing the frequency of the most common types of HIPAA violations. The report concerned…
Healthcare Employee Subject to Investigation by DA’s Office
In addition to having their employment contract terminated, healthcare employees who have been identified as improperly accessing the medical records of patients are also likely…
HITRUST Common Security Framework Updates
The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) is the most widely adopted privacy and security framework in the United States. Earlier this month, it announced that…
New Secretary of HHS and HIPAA Changes
On February 10, 2017, Tom Price was appointed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on February. He has replaced Sylvia Matthews…
HIPAA Privacy Rule Updated to Clear Ambiguity
After calls from healthcare professionals to clear the ambiguity surrounding allowable disclosures of protected health information to spouses, relatives, and patients’ loved ones, the Department…