Former Hospital Employee Pleads Guilty To Criminal HIPPA Charges

 TYLER, Texas — U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that a former employee of an East Texas hospital has pleaded guilty to criminal HIPAA charges in the Eastern District of Texas.

Joshua Hippler, 30, formerly of Longview, Texas, was indicted on March 26, 2014, on charges of Wrongful Disclosure of Individually Identifiable Health Information.  Hippler pleaded guilty on August 28, 2014 during a hearing before United States Magistrate Judge John D. Love. 

The indictment alleged that from December 1, 2012, through January 14, 2013, Hippler, who was then an employee of a covered entity under HIPAA, obtained protected health information with the intent to use the information for personal gain.

Hippler faces up to ten years in federal prison.  A sentencing date has not been set.                                                                                          

The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by agents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  Assistant United States Attorney Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld is prosecuting the case.


May a covered entity use or disclose protected health information for litigation? Answer: A covered entity may use or disclose protected health information as permitted or required by the Privacy Rule, see 45 CFR 164.502(a) (PDF); and, subject to certain conditions the Rule typically permits uses and disclosures for litigation, whether for judicial or administrative proceedings, under particular provisions for judicial and administrative proceedings set forth at 45 CFR 164.512(e) (GPO), or as part of the covered entity’s health care operations, 45 CFR 164.506(a) (PDF). Depending on the context, a covered entity’s use or disclosure of protected health information in ...read more



Mental Health Center Provides Access and Revises Policies and Procedures Covered Entity: Mental Health Center Issue: Access, Restrictions The complainant alleged that a mental health center (the "Center") refused to provide her with a copy of her medical record, including psychotherapy notes. OCR’s investigation revealed that the Center provided the complainant with an opportunity to review her medical record, including the psychotherapy notes, with her therapist, but the Center did not provide her with a copy of her records.  The Privacy Rule requires covered entities to provide individuals with access to their medical records; however, the Privacy Rule exempts ...read more



DOVER (Oct. 21, 2022) – The Delaware Division of Developmental Disabilities Services is announcing today that it is mailing letters to service recipients and legal guardians who were impacted by a recent data breach incident and is providing information to the public regarding the incident. On August 23, 2022, staff within the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDS) discovered that in the process of creating new user accounts in the division’s client database, DDDS staff inadvertently provided access to individual records of 7074 individuals. As a result of these actions, 159 new users had potential access to service recipients’ ...read more



Private Practice Revises Access Procedure to Provide Access Despite an Outstanding Balance Covered Entity: Private Practice Issue: Access A complainant alleged that a private practice physician denied her access to her medical records, because the complainant had an outstanding balance for services the physician had provided. During OCR’s investigation, the physician confirmed that the complainant was not given access to her medical record because of the outstanding balance. OCR provided technical assistance to the physician, explaining that, in general, the Privacy Rule requires that a covered entity provide an individual access to their medical record within 30 days of ...read more

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