OCR also identified issues with the notice of privacy practices and there was no HIPAA privacy officer. Fresenius Medical Care North America settled the case for $3,500,000. 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 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. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the pharmacy revised its policies regarding PHI and retrained its staff. 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. 2021 HIPAA Right of Access Enforcement Actions Other 2021 HIPAA Violation Penalties Health care providers (persons and units) that provide, bill for and are paid for health care and transmit Protected Health Information (governs how individuals can use and disclose confidential patient information) in connection with certain transactions are required to comply with the privacy and security regulations established according to the Health Insurance Portability and . Read More, OCR agreed to settle multiple alleged HIPAA violations with Cottage Health for $3,000,000. }); Show Your Employer You Have Completed The Best HIPAA Compliance Training Available With ComplianceJunctions Certificate Of Completion, Learn about the top 10 HIPAA violations and the best way to prevent them, Avoid HIPAA violations due to misuse of social media, Losses to Phishing Attacks Increased by 76% in 2022, Biden Administration Announces New National Cybersecurity Strategy, Settlement Reached in Preferred Home Care Data Breach Lawsuit, BetterHelp Settlement Agreed with FTC to Resolve Health Data Privacy Violations, Amazon Completes Acquisition of OneMedical Amid Concern About Uses of Patient Data, Willful neglect (not corrected within 30 days. Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility Covered Entity: Health Plans When state laws are violated, the individuals whose ePHI has been compromised may be able to take legal action against the breached entity if it can be proven that an individual has suffered harm due to the negligence of a Covered Entity or Business Associate. For one violation, fines can range from $100-$50,000 for each instance of wrongdoing. The case was settled for $850,000. 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. The financial penalties imposed by OCR in 2020 for HIPAA Right of Access violations ranged from $15,000 to $160,000 and stemmed from refusals to provide copies of records or long delays. 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. The data breach exposed the Protected Health Information of 55,000 patients. If a nurse violates HIPAA, a patient cannot sue the nurse for a HIPAA violation. Failure to report a violation could have serious consequences. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has announced it has reached a settlement with North Memorial Health Care of Minnesota over alleged HIPAA violations from a 2011 data breach. The financial consequences of violating HIPAA depend on the level of negligence and if a breach has occurred the number of records potentially exposed by the breach and the risk posed by the unauthorized disclosure: The figures listed above represent the fines that can be imposed by OCR. Mental Health Center Corrects Process for Providing Notice of Privacy Practices Covered Entity: General Hospital The case was contested, but an administrative law judge ruled in favor of OCR. OCR discovered risk analysis failures, a lack of policies covering electronic devices, a lack of encryption or alternative safeguards, insufficient security policies, and insufficient physical safeguards, resulting in an impermissible disclosure of 521 individuals PHI. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Business Associates. Alternatively, financial penalties can be imposed if a breach of ePHI violates state laws. The doctor was retiring and received a delivery of 71 boxes of medical files containing up to 8,000 patient records; however, the delivery was made, and the boxes were left on the doctors driveway while he was out of the house. The default security settings were left in place, which allowed any individual with an Internet connection to gain access to the ePHI in the files. 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. Issue: Impermissible Disclosure-Research. > Case Examples Covered Entity: General Hospital At minimum, the nurse who violated HIPAA will probably have to go on a training course to prevent further violations. OCR intervened and closed the case but received a second complaint 6 months after the first stating the records had still not been provided. The records were provided on September 14, 2020. The following three years saw similar numbers of financial penalties; however, there was another major increase in HIPAA fines in 2020 when 19 HIPAA violation cases were settled with OCR. It took 5 months from the initial request for the complete set of medical records to be provided. The infection resulted in the impermissible disclosure of the electronic protected health information of 1,670 individuals. Violating HIPAA law can result in fines, job termination, loss of licensure, and criminal charges. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) imposed a $1.6 million civil monetary penalty (CMP) on Texas Health and Human Services Commission (TX HHSC) for multiple violations of HIPAA Rules discovered during the investigation of an exposed internal application containing ePHI. Lahey Hospital and Medical Center has agreed to pay $850,000 to settle the case without admission of liability. The diagnostic laboratory settled the case with OCR and paid a $16,500 financial penalty. However, up to 500 cases per year result in a fine and/or corrective action being required. The practice trained all staff on the newly developed policies and procedures. Covered Entity: Private Practice Shaila Mae. Covered Entity: General Hospital The case was settled with OCR for $25,000. OCR determined the failure to terminate access rights when employment had ended was in violation of the HIPAA Security Rule. 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. Further, the covered entity's Privacy Officer and other representatives met with the patient and apologized, and followed the meeting with a written apology. Even posts that seem well-meaning can violate privacy and confidentiality. 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. Allergy Associates of Hartford paid OCR $125,000 to settle the alleged HIPAA violations. 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 incident for which the fine has been issued dates back to 2009 when a data security complaint was filed by a patient of one of its doctors. Issue: Impermissible Use and Disclosure. OCR also determined there had been a risk analysis failure, a failure to implement Privacy Rule policies, and unique IDs had not been provided to all employees to track information system activity. Jail Nursing: No Deliberate The case was settled for $2,300,000. Even though it is not done maliciously. 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. A study found that the average person spends about 52 minutes per day engaging in this type of conversation. Employees were trained to provide only the minimum necessary information in messages, and were given specific direction as to what information could be left in a message. Read More, Anchorage Community Mental Health Services (ACMHS) runs five mental health facilities in Alaska and is a non-profit organization. OCR determined that there had been an impermissible disclosure of 34,883 patients ePHI due to a lack of encryption. Read More, Mountlake Terrace, WA-based Premera Blue Cross is the largest health plan in the Pacific Northwest. Private Practice Implements Safeguards for Waiting Rooms Five former Methodist employees have been indicted on charges . Corinne S Kennedy. 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. Covered Entity: Pharmacies Read More, Phoenix, AZ-based Banner Health is one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States. The last update to the HIPAA violation penalty amounts applies to cases assessed on or after March 17, 2022, as detailed in the table below: *Table last updated in March 2022. The case was settled for $65,000. OCR also discovered a business associate failure. A covered entitys obligation to comply with all requirements of the Privacy Rule cannot be conditioned on the patients silence. OCR determined the lack of encryption was in violation of the HIPAA Security Rule, there were insufficient device and media controls, and a business associate agreement had not been entered into with its parent company. A settlement of $400,000 was agreed upon with OCR to resolve the HIPAA violations. Delivered via email so please ensure you enter your email address correctly. To avoid these, a proactive approach should include a regular risk assessment and corrective action plan. 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. TTD Number: 1-800-537-7697, Content created by Office for Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, has sub items, about Compliance & Enforcement, has sub items, about Covered Entities & Business Associates, Other Administrative Simplification Rules. It took 8 months from the date of the first request for the records to be provided. OCR received a complaint from a patient who had not been provided with a copy of his medical records. Read More, OCR investigated three breaches involving the loss of a laptop computer and two unencrypted thumb drives containing patients PHI. 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. All staff was trained on the revised procedures. Private Practice Revises Policies and Procedures Addressing Activities Preparatory to Research A complainant alleged that a private practice physician denied her access to her medical records, because the complainant had an outstanding balance for services the physician had provided. Your Privacy Respected Please see HIPAA Journal privacy policy. The trial court noted that HIPAA does not create a private right of action, but instead requires that violations be pursued via administrative channels (ie: by filing a complaint with HHS). 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. To resolve this matter, the covered entity refunded the $100.00 records review fee., Hospital Issues Guidelines Regarding Disclosures to Avert Threats to Health or Safety Read More, Medical Informatics Engineering, an Indiana-based provider of electronic medical record software and services, experienced amajor data breachin 2015 at its NoMoreClipboard subsidiary. Memphis Commercial Appeal. 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. Since then, OCR has been cracking down on entities that have failed to provide individuals with timely access to their medical records. 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. Read More, OCR investigated a complaint about an impermissible disclosure of a patients PHI to a reporter. A nurse practitioner who has privileges at a multi-hospital health care system and who is part of the systems organized health care arrangement impermissibly accessed the medical records of her ex-husband. HIPAA Journal provides the most comprehensive coverage of HIPAA news anywhere online, in addition to independent advice about HIPAA compliance and the best practices to adopt to avoid data breaches, HIPAA violations and regulatory fines. 3 Examples of HIPAA Violation Cases Example #1: When it comes to HIPAA, curiosity can kill the cat or your career. The case was settled for $160,000. A violation due to willful neglect which is corrected within thirty days will attract a fine of between $10,000 and $50,000. 1. OCR received a complaint from a patient who alleged AIMS refused to give her a copy of her medical records. . OCR intervened and closed the case but received a second complaint a month later when the records had still not been provided. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures. This usually happens when a celebrity checks into the hospital, but that's not always the case. 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, Life Hope Labs, LLC, in Sandy Springs, Georgia, failed to provide an individual with the medical records of her deceased father in a timely manner. The device contained a range of patients ePHI, including full names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth. An organizations prior history with regard to HIPAA non-compliance can also be a contributory factor in the calculation of penalties for HIPAA violations and therefore a second or subsequent fine will likely be much larger than the first. Large Medicaid Plan Corrects Vulnerability that Resulted in Dsiclosure to Non-BA Vendors 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). Issue: Access. When notified of the complaint filed with OCR, the dental practice immediately removed the red AIDS sticker from the complainant's file. A complaint alleged that an HMO impermissibly disclosed a members PHI, when it sent her entire medical record to a disability insurance company without her authorization. All Case Examples. A settlement of $150,000 has been reached with OCR. Office for Civil Rights Headquarters. In 2014, hackers accessed its systems and stole the ePHI of 6,121,158 individuals. 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. 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. Sentara Hospitals reported the breach to OCR as having impacted 8 individuals. QCA Health Plan has agreed to settle the HIPAA violations with OCR for $250,000. 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. Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility 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. The cost-of-living adjustment multiplier for 2023 is 1.07745, but this has not officially been applied by the HHS. Among other corrective actions to remedy this situation, OCR required that the hospital revise its subpoena processing procedures. It took 225 days from the initial request for the records to be provided. Regulatory Changes
Fines for "reasonable cause" violations range from $100 to $50,000. Technical assistance had previously been provided by OCR, but devices had still not been encrypted. OCRs investigation revealed that the radiology practice had relied upon incorrect billing information from the treating hospital in submitting the claim. 4 . 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.