COVID-19 created great upheaval throughout the economy and the legal compliance world as well. The pandemic has been a great disruptor and has brought rules, regulations and related agency guidance that have served to overwhelm even the most conscientious and attentive employer. The welcomed arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, and now the perhaps less welcome OSHA vaccine mandate, simply add to an employer’s compliance burden. While OSHA is busy attempting to implement its vaccine/testing mandate, it […]

The Fifth Circuit Court shot down the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard back in November, and many people thought it was never to return. But, the Sixth Circuit court brought it back last Friday, and OSHA declared it would begin enforcement on January 10, 2022. Any business that fails to comply with Biden vaccine mandate, which affects companies with at least 100 employees, may face fines. For a serious violation, a fine […]

New York-based Huntington Hospital began notifying 13,000 patients of a data breach that exposed protected health information (PHI) and resulted in a former employee being charged with a HIPAA violation. Huntington Hospital discovered on February 25, 2019, that a night shift employee was improperly accessing electronic medical records without role-based authorization. Further investigation revealed that the employee accessed PHI continually from October 2018 to February 2019. The hospital immediately suspended the employee, and he was […]

California will join 12 district attorneys in suing Walmart, alleging the retail giant has repeatedly violated state laws against hazardous waste disposal over the past six years. In a press conference Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) accused the company of disposing of materials such as lithium and alkaline batteries, LED lightbulbs and pesticides in disposal sites that are not equipped for them. “We’re not talking about a few batteries. … Walmart’s own audits […]

Patients who accessed mental health services in the last year are concerned about the security of those sessions and the safety of their sensitive personal information, according to a recent survey by healthcare technology vendor DrFirst. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services relaxed enforcement of telehealth use on platforms not typically allowed under The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The measure fueled use of telehealth, and […]

No health care worker is immune from the dangers of handling sharps. Physicians hold a rate just under that of nurses, mostly related to use of scalpels, but are less likely to report these injuries. Occupational risk of sharps injuries transcends health care from local and community settings to a global stage. Although often preventable, sharps injuries occur in high-income countries at an alarming rate, and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with higher endemic rates […]

Know the differences between personally identifiable information policy and PHI for staying aligned with HIPAA and avoiding violations. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) sets forth four tiers of penalties for violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA. They range from $100 to $50,000 per violation depending on the offense, making it a must to distinguish between personal health information (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII) policy. […]