OCR’s COVID-19 Enforcement Discretions
Throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency that began in January of 2020, the Office for Civil Rights has issued several notifications of enforcement discretion for certain aspects of the HIPAA rules. This means that, for the topics covered, the OCR will not impose penalties for noncompliance with the HIPAA rules as long as the covered […]
Navigating Social Media, Online Reviews, & HIPAA
No one likes a bad review. It is much more common for an unsatisfied customer to post a negative review than it is for a happy customer to post a positive review. Most business advice sites recommend responding to both good and bad reviews because it helps resolve issues and actually wins back customers. However, […]
Your Patients’ Right of Access
The HIPAA Privacy Rule grants patients the right to access their health information in a way that is easy and affordable for them. Providers are required to give patients access to their health information. There are some exceptions, of course, so getting the process right can be as confusing as being in a house of […]
Beware of Malware Lurking in PDF Email Attachments
Most malware that is delivered as an email attachment is usually a Word (.docx) or Excel (.xlsx) file. Cybersecurity threat analysts have recently discovered that PDF attachments are now becoming more popular to distribute malware. Since many people have been trained to be suspicious of opening Word and Excel files, they are not as cautious […]
ADA Cybersecurity Attack
In the past week the American Dental Association has confirmed that they fell victim to a cybersecurity event. There is a banner posted on the home page of the website alerting their members of this continuing situation and asking for their patience as the issue is resolved. News outlets are consistently reporting the following information […]
Your Patients’ Right of Access
The HIPAA Privacy Rule grants patients the right to access their health information in a way that is easy and affordable for them. Providers are required to give patients access to their health information. There are some exceptions, of course, so getting the process right can be as confusing as being in a house of […]
SUBPOENAS 101
Your practice has received a subpoena for client records. What do you need to do? Don’t panic. This is not unusual. There are several things you need to know up front. Read the entire subpoena carefully to determine who is asking for the information and, exactly what information you need to send. Never send more […]
HIPAA AND BATTLING PARENTS
Dealing with a minor’s medical records can be a minefield when a child is from a blended family or the parents have a contentious divorce going. Things get especially sticky when you add in stepparents and grandparents, and when a minor controls all or a portion of their own records. It’s a good time to […]
HIPAA
DISCLOSING COVID-19 VACCINATION STATUS HHS has published an article on the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s effect on the disclosure of COVID-19 vaccination status for healthcare. The following are excerpts from the article. For the full text see: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/hipaa-covid-19-vaccination-workplace/index.html. Remember that HIPAA is not the only set of laws that regulate this information. Does the HIPAA Privacy […]
Don’t forget to resist the phish!
These steps will help in identifying phishing emails: