It is ironic to learn the Office of Inspector General (OIG) believes the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) essentially has an insufficient compliance program to maintain the privacy and security of the protected health information (PHI) hosted by electronic health records (EHR). In an August 2014 report (A-06-11-00063), OIG concluded … Continue Reading
Accretive Health recently agreed to settle a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint that stems from a July, 2011 incident in which an Accretive employee’s laptop was stolen from his car. As a medical billing and revenue management services provider, Accretive grants its employees access to “sensitive personal health information” including “patient names, dates of birth, … Continue Reading
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a proposed rule that would modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule by allowing health care providers to make certain disclosures to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The NICS aims to keep guns from being sold to those … Continue Reading
Health and Human Services ("HHS") Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced yesterday important new proposed rules and resources to strengthen the privacy of health information and to help all Americans understand their rights and the resources available to safeguard their personal health data. The official release date of the new proposed rules is July 14, 2010. These … Continue Reading
