The Many Forms of HIPAA Enforcement

Oct 9, 2019 | HIPAA

How is HIPAA enforced? That may be a simple enough question, but it also contains more nuance than may initially be expected. Determining how HIPAA is enforced can depend upon how the term enforcement is viewed and interpreted. The first step is to define enforcement....

A Phishing Epidemic: Constant Stream of Reports

Sep 26, 2019 | Cybersecurity

Since at least the beginning of the summer, it seems as though no day can go by without another phishing incident being reported by a healthcare entity. The reports are almost always the same too. After some period of time (usually not the same day), unauthorized...

Unnecessary Stress: HIPAA and Litigation Requests

Sep 9, 2019 | HIPAA

While many areas of HIPAA compliance result in confusion and misinterpretation, responding to document requests from parties in litigation is one that has been presenting itself frequently. The classic scenario is Party A and Party B are in a lawsuit with each other....

Communication Tension or Breakdown

Jun 26, 2019 | HIPAA

A scenario growing in frequency for physician practices and other healthcare organizations is the desire for patients to communicate with clinicians using the same tools as in everyday life. That desire translates to a preference for text messaging, WhatsApp, Facebook...

Ignore HIPAA at Your Own Peril

Jun 6, 2019 | HIPAA

After a lull in enforcement actions concerning HIPAA, the Office for Civil Rights re-entered the fray with a $3,000,000 bang. The settlement announced on May 6, 2019, imposes a significant fine after widespread non-compliance was found by OCR. As with many prior...