OCR Settles Three Cases with Dental Practices for Patient Right of Access under HIPAA
Enforcement Actions Ensure Patients Receive Timely Access to their Records, at a Reasonable Cost
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office
for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the resolution of three investigations
concerning potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule's patient right of access
provision. These cases are part of a collective effort, bringing the
total 41 cases, to drive compliance on right of access under the law.
“These three right of access actions send an important message to
dental practices of all sizes that are covered by the HIPAA Rules to
ensure they are following the law,” said OCR Director Melanie Fontes
Rainer. “Patients have a fundamental right under HIPAA to receive their
requested medical records, in most cases, within 30 days. I hope that
these actions send the message of compliance so that patients do not
have to file a complaint with OCR to have their medical records requests
fulfilled.”
OCR has taken the following enforcement actions that underscore the
importance and necessity of compliance with the HIPAA Rules, including
the foundational right of access provision:
- Family Dental Care, P.C.
(“FDC”), is a dental practice located in Chicago, Illinois. OCR
received a complaint on August 8, 2020, alleging that FDC failed to
provide a former patient with timely access to her complete medical
records. The former patient requested her entire medical records in May
2020, but received only portions. The former patient filed a complaint
with OCR, and during OCR’s investigation, FDC provided her with the
remainder of her records in October 2020. Thus, FDC did not provide a
complete copy of the records until more than five months after the
request was made. OCR's investigation determined that FDC’s failure to
provide timely access to the requested medical records was a potential
violation of the HIPAA right of access provision. FDC agreed to pay
$30,000 and implement a corrective action plan.
- Great Expressions Dental Center of Georgia, P.C.
(“GEDC-GA”), is a dental and orthodontics provider with multiple
locations throughout the state of Georgia. In November 2020, OCR
received a complaint alleging that GEDC-GA would not provide an
individual with copies of her medical records because she would not pay
GEDC-GA’s $170 copying fee. The individual first requested her records
in November 2019, but did not receive them until February 2021, over a
year later. OCR's investigation determined that GEDC-GA’s failure to
provide timely access to the requested medical records, and its practice
of assessing copying fees that were not reasonable and cost-based, were
potential violations of the HIPAA right of access provision. GEDC-GA
agreed to pay $80,000 and implement a corrective action plan.
- B. Steven L. Hardy, D.D.S., LTD,
doing business as Paradise Family Dental (“Paradise”) is a dental
practice in Las Vegas, Nevada. On October 26, 2020, OCR received a
complaint alleging that Paradise had failed to provide a mother with
copies of her and her minor child’s protected health information. The
mother submitted multiple record requests between April 11, 2020, and
December 4, 2020, but Paradise did not send the records until December
31, 2020, more than eight months after her initial request. OCR's
investigation determined that Paradise’s failure to provide timely
access to the requested medical records was a potential violation of the
HIPAA right of access provision. Paradise agreed to pay $25,000 and
implement a corrective action plan.
| Large Provider Revises Patient Contact Process to Reflect Requests for Confidential Communications Covered Entity: General Hospital Issue: Impermissible Disclosure; Confidential Communications A patient alleged that a general hospital disclosed protected health information when a hospital staff person left a message on the patient’s home phone answering machine, thereby failing to accommodate the patient’s request that communications of PHI be made only through her mobile or work phones. In response, the hospital instituted a number of actions to achieve compliance with the Privacy Rule. To resolve this matter to the satisfaction of OCR, the hospital: retrained an entire Department with ...read more |
| A Covered Entity is: A health plan. An individual or group plan that provides, or pays the cost of, medical care. Health plans include private entities (e.g., health insurers and managed care organizations) and government organizations (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, and the Veterans Health Administration) A health care provider. A provider of health care services and any other person or organization that furnishes, bills, or is paid for health care in the normal course of business. Health care providers (e.g., physicians, hospitals, and clinics) are covered entities if they transmit health information in electronic form in connection with a transaction ...read more |
| Large Provider Revises Patient Contact Process to Reflect Requests for Confidential Communications Covered Entity: General Hospital Issue: Impermissible Disclosure; Confidential Communications A patient alleged that a general hospital disclosed protected health information when a hospital staff person left a message on the patient’s home phone answering machine, thereby failing to accommodate the patient’s request that communications of PHI be made only through her mobile or work phones. In response, the hospital instituted a number of actions to achieve compliance with the Privacy Rule. To resolve this matter to the satisfaction of OCR, the hospital: retrained an entire Department with ...read more |
| Pharmacy Chain Institutes New Safeguards for PHI in Pseudoephedrine Log Books Covered Entity: Pharmacies Issue: Safeguards A grocery store based pharmacy chain maintained pseudoephedrine log books containing protected health information in a manner so that individual protected health information was visible to the public at the pharmacy counter. Initially, the pharmacy chain refused to acknowledge that the log books contained protected health information. OCR issued a written analysis and a demand for compliance. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required that the pharmacy chain implement national policies and procedures to safeguard the ...read more |
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