Read More, Lifespan Health System Affiliated Covered Entity is a Rhode Island healthcare provider. Issue: Access, Authorization. That's almost an hour devoted to talking about someone else. Case Examples by Covered Entity. 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. Read More. 1. Here are the top five misconceptions about FERPA and HIPAA that I regularly address in my work with schools. Among other actions taken to satisfactorily resolve this matter, the hospital took further disciplinary action with the nurse, which included: documenting the employee record with a memo of the incident; one year probation; referral for peer review; and further training on HIPAA Privacy. OCR conducted an investigation into an incident involving a stolen laptop that contained the ePHI of 20,431 patients. If an offense is committed under false pretenses, the criminal penalties increase to a maximum . The case was settled for $5,100,000. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has announced that Childrens Medical Center of Dallas has paid a civil monetary penalty of $3.2 million to resolve multiple HIPAA violations spanning several years. 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. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the HMO created a new HIPAA-compliant authorization form and implemented a new policy that directs staff to obtain patient signatures on these forms before responding to any disclosure requests, even if patients bring in their own authorization form. Read More, Paradise Family Dental was investigated in response to a complaint that a parent had not been provided with a copy of her minor childs medical records, despite submitting multiple requests to the practice. 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. A hospital employee's supervisor accessed, examined, and disclosed an employee's medical record. 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. The device contained a range of patients ePHI, including full names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth. Health Plan Corrects Impermissible Disclosure of PHI through Training, Mitigation, and Sanctions The maximum penalty for a single breach is $1.5 million per year. 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. Settlements have previously been agreed upon with healthcare providers, health plans, and business associates of covered entities, but this is the first time OCR has settled potential HIPAA violations with a wireless health services provider. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Safeguards. OCR also found the Notice of Privacy Practices to be inadequate. Employees also were trained to review registration information for patient contact directives regarding leaving messages. Read more, Advanced Spine & Pain Management, a provider of chronic pain-related medical services in Cincinnati and Springboro, OH, failed to provide a patient with timely access to the requested medical records. The investigation also indicated that the disclosures did not meet the Rules de-identification standard and therefore were not permissible without the individuals authorization. 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. 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. Read more, The dental practice with offices in Charlotte and Monroe, NC, impermissibly disclosed a patients PHI on a webpage in response to a negative online review. In addition, the employee who made the disclosure was counseled and given a written warning. 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. Case Examples by Issue. In more servers cases, or where multiple violations have occurred, the nurse may lose their job. Court Holds Up Termination for Nurse HIPAA Violation In addition, the covered entity forwarded the complainant a complete copy of the medical record. 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 medical center had also failed to enter into a BAA with a business associate. MAPFRE has agreed to a $2,200,000 settlement with OCR. OCR determined this breached the HIPAA Right of Access provision of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. But it's vital. Improper Disposal HIPAA rules state medical professionals must dispose of PHI in a secure manner. HHS 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. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate nurses' ability to evaluate ethical violations to hypothetical case studies involving social media use. Examples of HIPAA Violations and Common Scenarios The case was settled for $15,000. 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, Orlando, FL-based primary care provider, Health Specialists of Central Florida Inc., was investigated by OCR after receipt of a complaint from a woman who had not been provided with a copy of her deceased fathers medical records. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures. 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. The Notice of Enforcement Discretion only applied a cap to each violation tier. 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. Big Consequences for Nurses Violating HIPAA - Lamar - Online Programs A violation that occurred despite reasonable vigilance can attract a fine of $1,000 - $50,000. Prison Time for Scheme to Frame Nurse for HIPAA Violations. Read More, Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat in Florida received a request from a patient for a copy of medical records on December 15, 2020, and again on January 8, 2021, but the records were not provided until May 20, 2021. Comments and replies to someone else's post, chat room gossip (even if it's a private room) or leaving a review on a site like Yelp opens the door for potential HIPAA violations. OCR intervened but received a second complaint a month later when the records had still not been provided. A private practice failed to honor an individual's request for a complete copy of her minor son's medical record. OCR determined the failure to terminate access rights when employment had ended was in violation of the HIPAA Security Rule. Numbers at a Glance - Current | HHS.gov Reports can be filed either through internal channels or electronically through the Department of Health and Human Services. Read More, Associated Retina Specialists in New York took 5 months to provide a patient with the requested medical records. 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. 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 default security settings were left in place, which allowed any individual with an Internet connection to gain access to the ePHI in the files. 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. OCRs investigation revealed that the radiology practice had relied upon incorrect billing information from the treating hospital in submitting the claim. Read More, An investigation of five separate breaches at HIPAA-covered entities owned by Fresenius Medical Care North America revealed multiple HIPAA violations had contributed to the breaches. 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. Covered Entity: Health Care Provider Read More, Phoenix, AZ-based Banner Health is one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States. Read More, OCR announced that it has reached a settlement for $125,000 with a Denver-based healthcare provider, Cornell Pharmacy, following the improper disposal of patient health records. Covered Entity: Health Plans 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 $1,040,000. 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. Read More, OCR investigated a complaint about an impermissible disclosure of a patients PHI to a reporter. Corinne S Kennedy. Covered Entity: General Hospitals The complainant alleged that a mental health center (the "Center") improperly provided her records to her auto insurance company and refused to provide her with a copy of her medical records. 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. The case was settled with OCR for $300,640. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures. Social media use and ethics violations: Nurses' responses to OCR provided technical assistance but received another complaint from the same patient that the records had still not been provided. In the majority of cases, the agency resolves the complaints without the need for an investigation or finds no HIPAA violation exists. 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. 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. At minimum, the nurse who violated HIPAA will probably have to go on a training course to prevent further violations. The new procedures were incorporated into the standard staff privacy training, both as part of a refresher series and mandatory yearly compliance training. A study found that the average person spends about 52 minutes per day engaging in this type of conversation. Issue: Access. Dr. Glazer did not cooperate with OCR during the investigation, resulting in OCR imposing a civil monetary penalty of $100,000 for the HIPAA Right of Access violation. Boston Medical Center agreed to settle the alleged HIPAA violations with OCR for $100,000. Physician Revises Faxing Procedures to Safeguard PHI 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. By 2011, the UCLA Health System would agree to pay a fine of $865,000 to settle HIPAA privacy violations at its three hospitals. Among other corrective actions to remedy this situation, OCR required that the hospital revise its subpoena processing procedures. The Center provided OCR with a valid authorization, signed by the complainant, permitting the release of information to the auto insurance company. 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. To resolve this matter, the mental health center revised its intake assessment policy and procedures to specify that the notice will be provided and the clinician will attempt to obtain a signed acknowledgement of receipt of the notice prior to the intake assessment. Covered Entity: Private Practice Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Authorizations. 3 Examples of HIPAA Violation Cases Example #1: When it comes to HIPAA, curiosity can kill the cat or your career. HIPAA Violations by Nurses 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. What is a HIPAA Violation? HIPAA Violation Examples - MEDPRO Disposal, LLC Some of these were HIPAA violations from employees posting a patient's protected health information (PHI) the social web. 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. 6) Keep Thoughts to Yourself. 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. Read More, A $2.5 million settlement has been agreed upon with CardioNet to resolve potential HIPAA violations. 3. 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. The Ultimate List of Celebrity HIPAA Violations Etactics 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. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $30,000. OCR determined that there had been an impermissible disclosure of 34,883 patients ePHI due to a lack of encryption. Social Media Posts Could Have Consequences for Your Career However, the court also legitimized private cause for action in HIPAA lawsuits, which could set a precedent for HIPAA related legal action. HIPAA Journal's goal is to assist HIPAA-covered entities achieve and maintain compliance with state and federal regulations governing the use, storage and disclosure of PHI and PII. Nope. Read More, All Inclusive Medical Services, Inc. (AIMS) is a Carmichael, CA-based multi-specialty family medicine clinic. In 2014, hackers accessed its systems and stole the ePHI of 6,121,158 individuals. An Accusation is a legal document formally charging a registered nurse with a violation (s) of the Nursing Practice Act, and notifying the public that a disciplinary action is pending against that nurse. Nurse Faced with Jail Time for Violating HIPAA Laws Without appropriate HIPAA training, this case of a HIPAA violation demonstrates how critical it is to train workers before there is an issue. The 2020 increase is largely due to OCRs HIPAA Right of Access enforcement initiative, which was launched in late 2019. The cost-of-living adjustment multiplier for 2023 is 1.07745, but this has not officially been applied by the HHS. > Case Examples OCR settled the case for $240,000. The pharmacy did not consider the customer's insurance card to be protected health information (PHI). A radiology practice that interpreted a hospital patients imaging tests submitted a workers compensation claim to the patients employer. The local newspaper then featured on its front page the individuals x-ray and an article that included the date of the accident, the location of the accident, the patients gender, a description of patients medical condition, and numerous quotes from the hospital about such unusual sporting accidents. The OCR investigation determined 577 patients had been affected, but Sentara Hospitals refused to update its breach notice to reflect the correct number of patients affected. Read More, WellPoint is one of the largest providers of Affiliated Health Plans, with almost 36 million policyholders across the United States.