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McBrayer Blogs
Showing 51 posts in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Tools for the Trade: Understanding HIPAA
As a result of the intricate details and requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), it comes as no surprise that HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules can cause challenges and confusion for even the most sophisticated providers. With this in mind, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) has recently provided tools meant to educate both consumers and providers on HIPAA. More >
Doe v. Guthrie Clinic, Ltd.: A New Privacy Battleground?, cont.
Earlier this week, I mentioned the Doe v. Guthrie Clinic, Ltd.[1] case and what it may mean for provider liability. In a nutshell, the plaintiff in Guthrie seeks to extend the fiduciary duty of patient confidentiality beyond the licensed provider to the medical corporation, including hospitals and medical practices. Under the proposed theory, the hospital or medical practice could be held directly liable for the unauthorized disclosure of patient information regardless of whether an employee disclosed the information within the scope of employment. In other words, the unauthorized disclosure of patient information would be attributed to the medical corporation, which acting through its representatives, breached patient confidentiality. More >
Doe v. Guthrie Clinic, Ltd.: A New Privacy Battleground?
Most health care providers are aware of the significant liability implications of a breach of protected health information, including, in some cases, the cost of issuing a breach notification to affected individuals. Providers have not, however, faced significant liability from patient lawsuits filed directly against a hospital or medical practice for damages arising from a breach of confidentiality. The reason is that patients face an uphill battle when suing a hospital or medical practice directly because most laws that protect patient information, including HIPAA, do not provide a private right of action for patients to sue the provider. More >
More on the Final HIPAA Omnibus Rule
To follow up our previous blog on the Final Omnibus Rule (“Rule”) regarding HIPAA and HITECH, 78 Fed.Reg. 17, Part II, 5566-5702 (Jan. 25, 2013), which modifies 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164, we will now discuss the changes to the Breach Notification Rule. The modifications will greatly reshape how Covered Entities and Business Associates view a breach. More >
HHS Issues Final HIPAA Omnibus Rule
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently announced its issuance of the highly-anticipated regulations or Final Omnibus Rule (“Rule”) relating to the modification of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement rules under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“the HITECH Act”). 78 Fed.Reg. 17 Part II (January 25, 2013) modifying 45 CFR Parts 160, 162, 164. The Final Rule, 78 Fed.Reg. 17 Part II, 563 pages in length, makes significant changes of which all providers need to be aware. A complete examination of the sweeping changes cannot be done in one article, so we will make a general summary of the most important changes. More >
An Analysis of Urinalysis—Considerations for Health Providers
Urinalysis, also referred to as urine drug screening, is an important procedure that health providers use for several reasons: to monitor patients’ medication compliance, detect drug abuse, or identify the presence of disease. There are numerous implications that accompany a urinalysis examination though, and health providers are sometimes left wondering if they should hand over the cup to patients. More >
Annual Report Details Record Breaking Success in Health Care Fraud Prevention
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), required the establishment of a national Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program (“HCFAC”). The HCFAC Program is a joint Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Health and Human Services (“HHS”) coordination of federal, state and local law enforcement activities to combat fraud committed against all health plans, both public and private. More >
HHS Issues Final HIPAA/HITECH Rule
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued its Final Rule modifying the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) privacy and security regulations pursuant to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”) on January 17, 2013. The Final Rule strengthens the privacy and security requirement of HIPAA governing protected health information (“PHI”) and gives HHS greater enforcement authority to police violations of the privacy and security requirements. The Final Rule will require health care providers and their business associates to re-evaluate their HIPAA compliance policies and procedures to avoid potential liability for violations of HIPAA requirements. More >
THE “WILD WILD WEST” OF SMS
SMS text messaging is quickly becoming the preferred method of communication for many people who find it a quick and convenient way to share information with friends, family and, increasingly, with colleagues. This is true in the health care space as well with patients increasingly using text messaging to communicate with providers and to receive health-related reminders and updates, including for health care appointments, medication therapies and health news. For example, anyone can text the word HEALTH to 87000 and begin receiving text messages from the Center for Disease Control regarding emergency alerts, new research and reports, as well as health information and tips. More >
Is a Cloud Vendor a Business Associate?
Before a covered entity can use cloud storage for ePHI, the covered entity must enter into a business associate agreement (BAA) with the cloud vendor.[i] It seems that there is some uncertainty surrounding this requirement, with some cloud vendors taking the position that a BAA is unnecessary for passive storage of ePHI or that they qualify for an exception under HITECH Act as a personal health records vendor. More >
