According to a recent press release, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment of two Chinese nationals for a hacking incident that resulted in one of the largest health data breaches of all time.
Q: I’m a registered nurse, and I received treatment at the ER of the hospital where I work. When I asked for a return-to-work note the next day, the physician told me that my supervisor called her the previous evening and asked if I had asked for the note. Is this a HIPAA violation?
Care coordination has been at the heart of recent healthcare redesign efforts, which includes integrating primary care with behavioral and mental healthcare, but misunderstandings about how and when HIPAA applies can lead to unnecessary delays and leave organizations vulnerable to compliance risks.
On May 6, HHS’ Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Touchstone Medical Imaging has agreed to pay a $3 million settlement following a security incident that exposed the protected health information of more than 300,000 patients in 2014.
If a lawyer hits you with a subpoena for a patient’s protected health information, don’t panic—or you may not only violate the patient’s privacy rights under HIPAA, but also be subject to civil action under state law.
