Entity Rescinds Improper Charges for Medical Record Copies to Reflect Reasonable, Cost-Based Fees Covered Entity: Private Practices The previous record was the $3.5 million settlement with Triple S Management Corporation agreed in November 2015. Read More, Family Dental Care, P.C. 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. The hospital also trained relevant staff members on the new procedures. In 2017, Lifespan mentioned in a news release that someone broke into an employee vehicle and stole their work laptop. Contacting individuals to participate in a research study is a use or disclosure of protected health information (PHI) for recruitment, as it is part of the research and is not an activity preparatory to research. OCR determined this fee to be unreasonable and that there had been a 15-month delay in providing the patient with the requested records. The patient filed a complaint with OCR and the records were eventually provided more than 10 months later. The investigation revealed a failure to conduct an accurate risk analysis, noncompliance with the security incident response and reporting requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule, the failure to conduct an evaluation following changes that affected the security of ePHI, a lack of audit controls, breach notification delays, and the impermissible disclosure of the PHI of 279,865 individuals. After the investigation, Ms D was informed that she was being terminated from her job based on her violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) for . Covered Entity: Health Care Provider 4 . The hacker stole data, attempted to extort money, and leaked the ePHI of 208,557 patients online when payment was not received. All staff was trained on the revised procedures. CHCS also failed to implement appropriate security measures to address risks to ePHI in accordance with 45 C.F.R. A nurse at a Texas children's hospital has been fired for violating Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Rules by posting protected health information on a social media website. Covered Entity: Health Care Provider / General Hospital Covered Entity: Health Plans Covered Entity: General Hospital 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. The data breach exposed the Protected Health Information of 55,000 patients. The Board can report disciplinary actions to other agencies that oversee nursing licenses. The case was settled for $1,250,000. 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 PHI of 58,106 patients was improperly disposed of during that timeframe. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Business Associates. A mother requested a copy of her sons medical records, but the records had not been provided three months after submitting the request. OCR provided technical assistance to the covered entity, explaining that the Privacy Rule permits a covered entity to provide a summary of patient records rather than the full record only if the requesting individual agrees in advance to such a summary or explanation. Lahey Hospital and Medical Center has agreed to pay $850,000 to settle the case without admission of liability. In the majority of cases, the agency resolves the complaints without the need for an investigation or finds no HIPAA violation exists. A hospital employee did not observe minimum necessary requirements when she left a telephone message with the daughter of a patient that detailed both her medical condition and treatment plan. Without a properly executed agreement, a covered entity may not disclose PHI to its law firm. 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. The cost of employer HIPAA violations in the supreme court ranges from $100 to $50,000 based on a variety of factors, including: Whether or not there was malicious intent (civil vs. criminal penalties) The degree of negligence If a doctor violates HIPAA, including inadvertent disclosure If a breach occurred Nurse Pleads Guilty to HIPAA Violation A licensed practical nurse who pled guilty to wrongfully disclosing a patient's health information for personal gain faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine or both. 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Read More, OCR received a complaint from a patient of Dr. Rajendra Bhayani, a Regal Park, NY-based private practitioner specializing in otolaryngology, alleging he had not provided a patient with a copy of her medical records. OCR found that the owner of the practice had responded to several reviews and disclosed ePHI, even disclosing the names of patients in the responses who had chosen to post reviews anonymously. 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. A private practice denied an individual access to his records on the basis that a portion of the individual's record was created by a physician not associated with the practice. Back to Top Enforcement Highlights and Numbers at a Glance Current Enforcement Highlights Enforcement Highlights Archived by Month OCR determined this breached the HIPAA Right of Access provision of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. OCR determined there had been a risk analysis failure, access control failure, information system activity monitoring failure, and an impermissible disclosure of 6,617 patients ePHI. Private Practice Revises Access Procedure to Provide Access Despite an Outstanding Balance Criminal violations of HIPAA Rules are dealt with by the U.S. Department of Justice. OCR determined that there had been an impermissible disclosure of 34,883 patients ePHI due to a lack of encryption. We've aggregated the ultimate list of reported celebrity HIPAA violations. Public Hospital Corrects Impermissible Disclosure of PHI in Response to a Subpoena Read More, Massachusetts General Hospital was fined for allowing an ABC film crew to record footage of patients as part of the Boston Med TV series, without first obtaining consent from patients. OCR has increased its enforcement activities in recent years. A municipal social service agency disclosed protected health information while processing Medicaid applications by sending consolidated data to computer vendors that were not business associates. Office for Civil Rights Headquarters. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required the provider to develop and implement policies and procedures regarding appropriate administrative and physical safeguards related to the communication of PHI. 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. This will have long-lasting ramifications. There may be a viable claim, in some cases, under state laws. Covered Entity: Mental Health Center The minimum fine is $100 per violation (up to $50,000) for Category 1 violations. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Authorizations. Issue: Impermissible Use and Disclosure, A complainant, who was both a patient and an employee of the hospital, alleged that her protected health information (PHI) was impermissibly disclosed to her supervisor. Read More, WellPoint is one of the largest providers of Affiliated Health Plans, with almost 36 million policyholders across the United States. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced a new HIPAA settlement to resolve violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. 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 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. A mental health center did not provide a notice of privacy practices (notice) to a father or his minor daughter, a patient at the center. Covered Entity: Pharmacies HIPAA Advice, Email Never Shared 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. A New York City Hospital Is Investigating a Nurse for Sharing Video Footage With The Intercept Lillian Udell is being investigated for violating privacy laws after sharing video of nurses. Read More, Office for Civil Rights has announced a settlement of $1,215,780 has been reached with Affinity Health Plan, Inc., to resolve potential HIPAA violations discovered during a breach investigation. Read More, Elite Primary Care is a provider of primary health services in Georgia. Read More, After the permanent closure of the company, paperwork containing former patients PHI was discarded by FileFax. Read More, Lawrence Bell, Jr. D.D.S in Maryland failed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records. OCR investigated and found multiple potential HIPAA violations such as the failure to conduct a thorough risk analysis, risk management failures, and insufficient mechanisms to identify suspicious network activity. 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. Read More, An OCR investigation into an impermissible disclosure of 9,255 individuals PHI by Advanced Care Hospitalists, a business associate of a HIPAA-covered entity, revealed serious HIPAA compliance failures including a lack of a BAA, insufficient security measures to protect ePHI, and no documentation showing there had been any HIPAA compliance efforts prior to April 1, 2014. CHCS failed to perform a comprehensive risk analysis since September 23, 2013. 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 . 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, Great Expressions Dental Center of Georgia, P.C. A contested hearing took place, and the board found the nurse: 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, Wise Psychiatry is a small provider of psychiatric services in Colorado. Toll Free Call Center: 1-800-368-1019 Aim: This study aimed to evaluate nurses' ability to evaluate ethical violations to hypothetical case studies involving social media use. The possibility of HIPAA lawsuits brought forth by patients and breach victims could change HIPAA enforcement. Covered Entity: Private Practice in Chicago, Illinois, was investigated in response to a complaint from a patient who had only been provided with a partial copy of her requested medical records. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has fined New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) $2.2 million for allowing patients to be filmed for a TV show without obtaining prior permission from patients. A was charged with violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and with "conspiracy to wrongfully disclose individual health information for personal gain with maliciously harmful intent in a personal dispute." Her husband was charged with witness tampering. The first bar in the group of three per year represents the complaints closed in which there was no violation, the second in which there was corrective action, and the third reflects the total closures. MIE also settled a multi-state action with state attorneys general and paid a penalty of $900,000. There are four tiers of HIPAA violation penalties for nurses, ranging from unknowing violations to willful neglect of HIPAA Rules. Documentation was uncovered that clearly showed that mobile devices were believed to represent a critical security risk, yet action was not taken to address this issue in time to prevent the data breach. Covered Entity: Health Care Provider The case was settled for $25,000. In 2013 and 2015, protections on servers were accidentally removed and files containing ePHI could be accessed over the internet without the need for a username or password. OCR received a complaint from a patient who had not been provided with her medical records after a 2-month wait. Taking this into account, the figures OCR is working with are detailed in the table below and will apply indefinitely, until the next increase to account for inflation. Read More, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences experienced a hacking incident that was reported to OCR in January 2018. Issue: Safeguards. FileFax agreed to settle the alleged HIPAA violations for $100,000. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the pharmacy revised its policies regarding PHI and retrained its staff. Health Sciences Center Revises Process to Prevent Unauthorized Disclosures to Employers Read More, A patient of Elite Dental Associates submitted a complaint to OCR stating her PHI had been disclosed by Elite Dental Associates in response to a review on Yelp. The Paubox team exported all reported incidents from HHS's official Breach Portal from January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019 and used the data to compile the following summary. Read More, Athens Orthopedic Clinic PA in Georgia had its systems hacked in 2016. The office informed all its employees of the incident and counseled staff on proper faxing procedures. Pharmacy Chain Enters into Business Associate Agreement with Law Firm Read More, OCR investigated three breaches involving the loss of a laptop computer and two unencrypted thumb drives containing patients PHI. OCR provided technical assistance to the physician, explaining that, in general, the Privacy Rule requires that a covered entity provide an individual access to their medical record within 30 days of a request, regardless of whether or not the individual has a balance due. The case was settled for $15,000. The disclosure was not consistent with documents approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). OCR also discovered a business associate failure. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $70,000. The case was settled for $65,000. QCA Health Plan has agreed to settle the HIPAA violations with OCR for $250,000. 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. 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. Read More, Presence Health, one of the largest healthcare networks serving residents of Illinois, has agreed to pay OCR $475,000 to settle potential HIPAA Breach Notification Rule violations. If not, the form is invalid and any information released to a third party would be in violation of HIPAA regulations. Upon learning of the incident, the hospital placed both employees on leave; the orderly resigned his employment shortly thereafter. In some severe cases, yes, nurses can lose their jobs if they violate HIPAA. OCR determined its compliance program had been in disarray for several years. However, the investigation revealed that the pharmacy chain and the law firm had not entered into a Business Associate Agreement, as required by the Privacy Rule to ensure that PHI is appropriately safeguarded. Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility Read More, The HHS has announced that Lahey Hospital and Medical Center has agreed to settle a case with the Office for Civil Rights over alleged HIPAA violations following a data breach that occurred in October 2011. A Georgia man has been sentenced to federal prison in an unusual case in which he portrayed himself as a whistleblower while falsely reporting to authorities that a hospital worker committed criminal HIPAA violations. A number of patients were filmed, but consent had not been obtained. Serious violations, even if the intent is not malicious, are likely to result in disciplinary action. Radiologist Revises Process for Workers Compensation Disclosures The case was settled for $70,000. Massachusetts General Hospital agreed to settle the alleged HIPAA violations with OCR for $515,000. 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. The case was settled for $62,500. Had software patches been installed on the computers the malware would not have been unable to infect the PCs. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $10,000. Covered Entity: Health Plans / HMOs Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required that the pharmacy chain implement national policies and procedures to safeguard the log books. 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. The chain acknowledged that log books contained protected health information and implemented the required changes. A settlement of $150,000 has been reached with OCR. Hospital Revises Email Distribution as a Result of a Disclosure to Persons Without a "Need to Know" An OCR investigation indicated that the form the HMO relied on to make the disclosure was not a valid authorization under the Privacy Rule. Read more, OCR investigated a breach reported by the Department of Veteran Affairs involving a business associate, Authentidate Holding Corporation. The investigation also indicated that the disclosures did not meet the Rules de-identification standard and therefore were not permissible without the individuals authorization. renewals of licenses or APRN authorizations, or both. Read More, Fallbrook Family Health Center in Nebraska failed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records. Prison Time for Scheme to Frame Nurse for HIPAA Violations. Covered Entity: Private Practices Read more, The owner of the Fairhope, AL, dental practice impermissibly disclosed patients PHI to a campaign manager and a third-party marketing company in relation to a state senate election campaign. To resolve the issues in this case, the hospital developed and implemented several new procedures. The above penalties were implemented as demanded by the HITECH Act of 2009 and increase annually in line with inflation. Covered Entity: Health Plans There may be a viable claim, in some cases, under state privacy laws. The firewall was inactive for a period of 10 months leaving the data exposed and potentially accessible to unauthorized third parties for an unacceptable period of time. And when data breaches like this occur, it's usually because of a HIPAA violation. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, including mitigation of harm to the complainant, OCR required the Center to revise its procedures regarding patient authorization prior to release of protected health information to an employer. The case was settled for $100,000. A state health sciences center disclosed protected health information to a complainant's employer without authorization. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has announced it has arrived at a settlement with Care New England Health System (CNE) to resolve alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The four categories range from unknowing violations to willful disregard of HIPAA rules. Read More, A patient submitted a complaint to OCR about an impermissible disclosure of PHI in a mailing. The diagnostic laboratory settled the case with OCR and paid a $16,500 financial penalty. The Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit health system, Banner Health, experienced a hacking incident that resulted in the impermissible disclosure of the PHI of 2.81 million individuals in 2016. OCR stepped up enforcement of compliance with the HIPAA Rules in 2016, more than doubling the number of financial penalties. The case was settled for $15,000. OCR settled the case for $30,000. The hospital asserted that the disclosures were made to avert a serious threat to health or safety; however, OCRs investigation indicated that the disclosures did not meet the Privacy Rules standard for such actions. The case was settled for $100,000. The case was settled for $2.175 million. To avoid these, a proactive approach should include a regular risk assessment and corrective action plan. Large Provider Revises Patient Contact Process to Reflect Requests for Confidential Communications Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required that the social service agency develop procedures for properly disclosing protected health information only to its valid business associates and to train its staff on the new processes. 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). > HIPAA Home There are four different HIPAA violation classifications which rank the level of an organizations willful neglect, and four penalty tiers depending on factors such as the length of time a violation was allowed to continue after being discovered, the number of people affected by the violation, and the nature of data exposed. OCR intervened and provided technical assistance on the HIPAA Right of Access but received a second complaint when the records had still not been provided. Read More, Office for Civil Rights has agreed to its largest-ever financial penalty for a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Acts Privacy and Security Rules. After treating a patient injured in a rather unusual sporting accident, the hospital released to the local media, without the patients authorization, copies of the patients skull x-ray as well as a description of the complainants medical condition. Clinic Sanctions Supervisor for Accessing Employee Medical Record After OCR intervened, the records were provided, but it took 22 months from the initial date of the request. During the investigation, OCR discovered the business associate had acquired Peachstate, a CLIA-certified laboratory that provides clinical and genetic testing services. Read More, OCR investigated a complaint from a mother who requested a copy of her sons medical records from St. Josephs Hospital and Medical Center but had not been provided with a complete set of the records. Memphis Commercial Appeal. An employee of a major health insurer impermissibly disclosed the protected health information of one of its members without following the insurer's authorization and verification procedures. Covered Entity: Mental Health Center The containers had labels that included the PHI of patients. 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 In 2012 it suffered a security breach that exposed the data of 2,700 individuals as a result of a malware infection. Violations related to HIPAA laws have serious consequences, including job loss and other penalties. Among other corrective action taken, the Center provided the complainant with a copy of her medical record and revised its policies and procedures to ensure that it provides timely access to all individuals. The privacy breaches occurred shortly after each other in 2013. OCR settled the case for $20,000. If an offense is committed under false pretenses, the criminal penalties increase to a maximum . Issue: Safeguards; Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Disclosures to Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. The Privacy Rule requires covered entities to provide individuals with access to their medical records; however, the Privacy Rule exempts psychotherapy notes from this requirement. Read More, An article published in the LA Times started a sequence of events that has now resulted in Shasta Regional Medical Center (SRMC) agreeing to a settlement of $275,000 for its violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. 6) Keep Thoughts to Yourself. To resolve this matter, OCR also required the practice to revise its policies and operating procedures and to move medical alert stickers to the inside cover of the records. OCRs investigation revealed that the Center provided the complainant with an opportunity to review her medical record, including the psychotherapy notes, with her therapist, but the Center did not provide her with a copy of her records. Nancy Brent replies: Dear Paige: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountabilty Act requires that all covered entities (including nurses, whether they work in a hospital or other healthcare setting) protect against unauthorized disclosure of a patient's personally identifiable health information. 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. 3 Examples of HIPAA Violation Cases Example #1: When it comes to HIPAA, curiosity can kill the cat or your career.