2020 has been a busy year with HHS’ Office for Civil Rights, from Premera Blue Cross’ $6.85 million settlement, the second largest in OCR history, to numerous right of access case resolutions. Here are 17 hospitals, health systems and health plans that have agreed to HIPAA settlements so far this year. 1. Steven Porter, MD, a gastroenterologist in Ogden, Utah, agreed in March to pay OCR $100,000 to settle a potential HIPAA violation related to […]

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has awarded approximately $11.2 million in Susan Harwood federal safety and health training grants to 90 nonprofit organizations nationwide. The grants will provide education and training programs to help workers and employers recognize serious workplace hazards, including the coronavirus, implement injury prevention measures, and understand their rights and responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Under President Trump’s Qualified Opportunity Zones […]

With employers planning for employees to return to work following COVID-19–related closures, there are sure to be questions about sharing employee medical information as it relates to COVID-19 (symptoms, test results, status) within the workplace and with public authorities. Now may be a good time to review what has changed about federal privacy rules in light of the COVID-19 pandemic—and what hasn’t. Of course, much remains the same. The privacy, security, and breach notification rules […]

Dr. Ratul Chatterjee, an independent primary care physician in Huntington Beach, California, would like to banish HIPAA in its current form although he readily admits that his is a radical, politically incorrect, position. He charges that health IT companies, lawyers and lobbyists have made millions from HIPAA while blaming the 1995 law for a variety of ills, including physician burnout and lack of efficiency. “HIPAA is a big part of EHRs,” he declared in a […]

Workplace safety inspectors are conducting nearly 200 coronavirus-related investigations to determine whether employers failed to adequately protect their workers, according to data from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Half involve employee deaths or hospitalizations. The inspections target nearly 50 hospitals and two dozen nursing homes, including one in Joliet, Illinois, where administrators believe an infected maintenance worker spread the virus room to room. Twenty-four residents died, along with a nursing assistant and the maintenance worker himself. Also under […]

A handful of states are reopening for business following coronavirus-triggered lockdowns, raising two compelling questions: Must employers ensure the workplace is safe? And will they be held liable if employees contract the virus? The short answer is that while health care providers must follow federal safety guidelines to guard against contagion, other businesses are not obligated to do so, leaving it to states and localities to set standards, experts say. And sick employees who seek […]

The privacy watchdog won’t impose penalties on providers who use non-HIPAA-compliant remote communications technology during the public health emergency. The HHS Office for Civil Rights announced on Tuesday that during the coronavirus pandemic it will use discretion when enforcing HIPAA-compliance for telehealth communications tools. Why It Matters Even though some of those technologies may not fully comply with HIPAA requirements, OCR says it “will not impose penalties for noncompliance with the regulatory requirements under the […]