Safety & Compliance

OCR Imposes $6.85M Penalty Over Data Breach

A health insurance company in Washington state has been slapped with the second-largest ever HIPAA violation penalty. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has imposed a $6.85m penalty on Premera Blue Cross to resolve potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Premera Blue Cross is a not-for-profit Blue Cross Blue Shield licensed health insurance company based in Mountlake Terrace. In 2014, the company suffered a data […]

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OSHA Awards $11M In Worker Safety And Health Training Grants

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 […]

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OSHA cites Massachusetts dental practice for respiratory protection violations

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Georgetown Dental LLC in Georgetown, Massachusetts, for violating respiratory protection and other standards, according to an OSHA news release. OSHA cited the dental practice for six serious violations and one other-than-serious violation, with proposed penalties of $9,500, the release stated. The company has paid the penalty in full and abated the citations. OSHA cited the dental practice for failing to provide medical evaluations […]

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CMS Releases Interim Rule that ties COVID-19 Data Reporting to Hospital Conditions of Participation

On Aug. 25, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule (IFR) as an emergency regulation under the public health emergency (PHE). Under the IFR, CMS will require all hospitals to which the requirements of 42 CFR part 482 apply — including short-term acute care hospitals, long-term care (LTC) hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, cancer hospitals, children’s hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) — to provide the U.S. Department of […]

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What Are the Ways to Respond to an Unintentional HIPAA Violation?

From medical respirators to plastic takeout containers, medical professionals and city leaders are working to mitigate the waste created by COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County. At the Cottage hospitals, 3,400 N95 respirators have been sterilized onsite and are being stored for reuse if needed in the future, according to Maria Zate, manager of public relations at Cottage Health. “Medical waste is handled according to Centers for Disease Control guidelines. Most personal protective equipment [PPE] must […]

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Telehealth Privacy and Security: Investment and Education are Key

As healthcare organizations do battle against COVID-19, they also must stay on vigilant defense against cybercriminals intent on taking advantage of the crisis to sow chaos and disrupt clinical processes: barraging inboxes with pandemic-themed phishing emails, perpetrating hospital-crippling ransomware attacks, taking aim at public health agencies and vaccine research facilities. Meanwhile, there are new places to safeguard and secure – whether they’re hastily-erected ad hoc field hospitals or massively scaled up telehealth deployments. And fast-expanding […]

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The Most Common HIPAA Violations – Can You Avoid Them?

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) violations are quite common and are happening every day – inadvertently or due to lack of proper HIPAA compliance. But why is HIPAA compliance so necessary for the US healthcare system? What does it protect? What are the most common HIPAA violations and what are the consequences? Let’s find out. HIPAA – Why is it necessary? One of the most crucial pieces of information in the US healthcare […]

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Fact check: OSHA does recommend the use of face masks amid COVID-19

A number of social media posts attribute a fabricated quote about the dangers of wearing face-coverings to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA does recommend the use of face-coverings per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. The extract of the post referring to OSHA reads “(SIC) OSHA… Wearing Masks Longer Than 20 Min Without Changing Them Out Dangerously Increases Infection Rates, Increases Co2 Levels & Significantly Decreases Oxygen Levels […]

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What Medical Privacy Laws Do And Don’t Cover

RALEIGH, N.C. – Privacy experts say when health officials claim they’re not allowed to release certain information about the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re usually right. Medical privacy laws are in the spotlight as COVID-19 continues to ravage the country. In some cases, people have taken to social media to make claims about HIPAA, such as forbidding transportation network companies from requiring face masks in cars. Those claims are false. HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and […]

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Many Say OSHA Not Protecting Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic

Thousands have complained to OSHA about unsafe working conditions due to Covid-19. OSHA has not inspected a single workplace. NPR’s Scott Simon speaks with Deborah Berkowitz, a former agency official. Transcript: The mission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, known as OSHA, is to protect American workers. But many health care workers, factory workers, transit workers and others have said they do not feel protected during this pandemic. What has OSHA been doing? Deborah […]

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