Private Practice Implements Safeguards for Waiting Rooms
Private Practice Implements Safeguards for Waiting Rooms
Covered Entity: Private Practice
Issue: Safeguards; Impermissible Uses and Disclosures
A staff member of a medical practice discussed HIV testing
procedures with a patient in the waiting room, thereby disclosing PHI to
several other individuals. Also, computer screens displaying patient
information were easily visible to patients. Among other corrective
actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required the
provider to develop and implement policies and procedures regarding
appropriate administrative and physical safeguards related to the
communication of PHI. The practice trained all staff on the newly
developed policies and procedures. In addition, OCR required the
practice to reposition its computer monitors to prevent patients from
viewing information on the screens, and the practice installed computer
monitor privacy screens to prevent impermissible disclosures.
| Private Practice Revises Process to Provide Access to Records Regardless of Payment Source Covered Entity: Private Practices Issue: Access At the direction of an insurance company that had requested an independent medical exam of an individual, a private medical practice denied the individual a copy of the medical records. OCR determined that the private practice denied the individual access to records to which she was entitled by the Privacy Rule. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required that the private practice revise its policies and procedures regarding access requests to reflect the ...read more |
| SCOPE OF CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT UNDER 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6 Covered entities and those persons rendered accountable by general principles of corporate criminal liability may be prosecuted directly under 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6, and the knowingly element of the offense set forth in that provision requires only proof of knowledge of the facts that constitute the offense. MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE GENERAL COUNSEL DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND THE SENIOR COUNSEL TO THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL You have asked jointly for our opinion concerning the scope of 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6 (2000), the criminal enforcement provision of the ...read more |
| Can a covered entity refuse to disclose ePHI to an app chosen by an individual because of concerns about how the app will use or disclose the ePHI it receives? No. The HIPAA Privacy Rule generally prohibits a covered entity from refusing to disclose ePHI to a third-party app designated by the individual if the ePHI is readily producible in the form and format used by the app. See 45 CFR 164.524(a)(1), (c)(2)(ii), (c)(3)(ii). The HIPAA Rules do not impose any restrictions on how an individual or the individual’s designee, such as an app, may use the health information ...read more |
| Issued by: Office for Civil Rights (OCR) What if a HIPAA covered entity (or business associate) uses a CSP to maintain ePHI without first executing a business associate agreement with that CSP? Answer: If a covered entity (or business associate) uses a CSP to maintain (e.g., to process or store) electronic protected health information (ePHI) without entering into a BAA with the CSP, the covered entity (or business associate) is in violation of the HIPAA Rules. 45 C.F.R §§164.308(b)(1) and §164.502(e). OCR has entered into a resolution agreement and corrective action plan with a covered entity that OCR determined ...read more |
|
March 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
|
Blog Home
Newest Blog Entries
1/21/25 Understanding Business Associate Agreements
11/12/22 Modernizing Medicine Agrees to Pay $45 Million to Resolve Allegations of Accepting and Paying Illegal Kickbacks and Causing False Claims
11/12/22 Indian National Charged in $8 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme
11/12/22 Former Hospital Employee Pleads Guilty To Criminal HIPPA Charges
11/12/22 Covered entities and those persons rendered accountable by general principles of corporate criminal liability may be prosecuted directly under 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6
11/12/22 The Delaware Division of Developmental Disabilities Services Data Breach
11/12/22 OCR Settles Three Cases with Dental Practices for Patient Right of Access under HIPAA
11/12/22 HHS Issues Guidance on HIPAA and Audio-Only Telehealth
11/12/22 Five Former Methodist Hospital Employees Charged with HIPAA Violations
11/12/22 May a covered entity use or disclose protected health information for litigation?
11/12/22 When does the Privacy Rule allow covered entities to disclose protected health information to law enforcement officials?
Blog Archives
January 2025 (1)
November 2022 (54)
Blog Labels
Covered Entity (40)
HIPAA (2)
EHR Fraud (1)
Data Breach (1)
BAA (4)
HIPAA Enforcement (3)
Telehealth (1)
PPP Fraud (1)
ePHI (2)
|
