Do You Know Where Your Electronic Device Is?
Posted by donna@healthlawcenterplc.com in Oct, 2018
Today it is common for health care facilities, medical practices and health care companies to issue electronic devices, such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc., to their employees for use when conducting business. Such electronic devices, while essential to carrying out business functions, it is important that these electronic devices are inventoried, tracked, and if redeployed […]
Category: Electronic Health Records, HIPAA, News & Updates, Telemedicine
HIPAA – Do Your Policies and Procedures Comply With Security Requirements?
Posted by donna@healthlawcenterplc.com in Sep, 2018
In a recent newsletter issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights, the Office highlights critical considerations when developing policies and procedures to ensure the security of electronic media and devices. HIPAA requires covered entities and business associates to implement policies and procedures to limit physical access to its electronic […]
Category: HIPAA, News & Updates, Professional Development
Have You Taken Adequate Steps to Thwart Phishing Emails? If Not, You Could Be Facing A HIPAA Breach.
Posted by donna@healthlawcenterplc.com in Aug, 2018
For the second time in 2018 UnityPoint Health announced that it suffered a HIPAA data breach that could affect the medical and financial information to as many as 1.4 million patients. That information suspected of being disclosed could include patient names, birth dates medical record numbers, medical information, insurance information, and Social Security and driver’s […]
Category: HIPAA
Patients Can Not Sue For Breach Of HIPAA Privacy Rule
Posted by donna@healthlawcenterplc.com in Jul, 2018
The United States District Court is the most recent court to rule on whether a patient has a right to sue a health care provider when the privacy of protected health information is breached. Consistent with previous court decisions, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia concluded that HIPAA does not grant […]
Category: HIPAA
Post Tagged with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Donna Craig, HIPAA, Privacy Rule, The Health Law Center University Of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Must Pay More Than $4.3 Million For HIPAA Violations
Posted by donna@healthlawcenterplc.com in Jun, 2018
An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruled that MD Anderson Cancer Center must pay more than $4.3 million in civil monetary penalties for violating HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. The ruling is based on three separate data breaches in 2012 and 2013 that involved the theft of an unencrypted laptop from a MD Anderson physician’s home […]
Category: HIPAA
Post Tagged with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Donna Craig, HIPAA, Privacy Rule, Security Rule, The Health Law Center HIPAA Case Study – Transcription Error
Posted by Donna Craig in Feb, 2018
A patient was admitted to the hospital for a medical condition that required surgery. The patient had a significant past medical history for hyperlipidemia, which is abbreviated as “HLD”. When the admitting physician dictated the patient’s medical history, including his history of hyperlipidemia, the transcriptionist interpreted the dictation of “HLD” as “HIV”. This transcription error […]
Category: Case Studies
HIPAA: When Are Mobile App Developers Business Associates?
Posted by Donna Craig in Mar, 2016
With the explosion of electronic health technology aimed at improving patient health outcomes, it was only a matter of time before the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) weighed in regarding the electronic health technology’s impact on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). HHS launched a new platform in October […]
Category: HIPAA
Post Tagged with Donna Craig, EHR, EHR Vendor, Electronic Health Record, Electronic Health Record Vendor, HIPAA, Security Rule, The Health Law Center HIPAA Privacy Rule Modified To Identify Those Prohibited From Possessing Firearms
Posted by Donna Craig in Jan, 2016
On January 6, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a Final Rule that modifies the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule to allow a subset of covered entities to disclose to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (“NICS”) the names of individuals who are mentally unfit […]
Category: HIPAA
Post Tagged with Donna Craig, Health Professionals, HIPAA, Physician, Privacy Rule, The Health Law Center Is Your Patient Health Information Protected?
Posted by Donna Craig in Feb, 2015
Last week we woke up to the news that the second largest health insurance company in the country, Anthem Insurance Company, had its patient database hacked into by cyber attackers. While it is too early to know the full scope and impact of Anthem’s security breach, it does raise questions as to what security measures […]
Category: HIPAA
Post Tagged with Donna Craig, Donna J. Craig, HIPAA, Hospital, Physician, Privacy Rule, Security Rule, The Health Law Center Are You Unknowingly Violating HIPAA In Your Office Practice?
Posted by Donna Craig in Jan, 2015
Using electronic media to communicate with others is a fact of life. But when health care providers send emails to patients, they may be in violation of HIPAA. To protect patients’ protected health information and avoid being the subject of HIPAA complaints consider the following: Does your Notice of Privacy Practices allow for protected health […]
Category: HIPAA
Post Tagged with Advance Practice Registered Nurse, Donna Craig, Donna J. Craig, Health Professionals, HIPAA, Hospital, Physician, The Health Law Center 
