Healthcare facilities across the world are faced with myriad challenges as they aim to diagnose and treat cases of COVID-19. HHS and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have instituted several changes during the nationwide public health emergency, some of which modify HIPAA laws and directly impact healthcare organizations around the country.
Q: HHS recently issued a notice that fee limitations will apply only to an individual’s request for access to their own records and not to an individual’s request to transmit records to a third party. Will limitations imposed by state law now apply?
The healthcare industry in the United States has experienced a significant increase in ransomware attacks, and the trend is likely to continue. It’s easy money for the hackers.
Q: An employee in a psychiatric hospital’s billing department sees a fellow parishioner’s name. He calls other parishioners to tell them that this individual is a patient at the hospital, and they share this information on a prayer chain. Suddenly, several hundred people know that this parishioner is a patient in a psychiatric hospital. Is this an acceptable disclosure?
