HIPAA Certification
How Do You Get a HIPAA Certification? What to Know
Last month, a practice manager in Atlanta called me in a panic. Her new employer had demanded she produce a "HIPAA certification" within
Carl B. Johnson
Healthcare Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Virtual Privacy Officer and HIPAA Compliance Educator and National Speaker on Healthcare Privacy & Security
HIPAA Rules
What Rules Were Added to HIPAA: A Complete Timeline
When Congress passed HIPAA in 1996, the law was barely about privacy at all. It was a health insurance portability bill — designed to help people
HIPAA Security Rule
The HIPAA Security Rule's Broader Objectives Explained
In 2018, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center lost a Supreme Court appeal and got stuck with a $4.3 million penalty — all
HIPAA Security Compliance
HIPAA Security Compliance: What Most Orgs Get Wrong
A $4.75 Million Fine Started with One Missing Risk Analysis In 2023, Banner Health agreed to a $1.25 million settlement with OCR after
Business Associate Agreement
Business Associate Agreement Form: What You Need
A Missing Signature Cost One Health System $4.3 Million In 2016, Advocate Health Care Network agreed to pay $5.55 million to settle multiple
HIPAA Privacy Rule
What Are the Privacy Rules of HIPAA? A Real-World Guide
A Nurse, a Hallway, and a $387,200 Penalty In 2019, the Office for Civil Rights settled with a medical center in Tennessee after staff
PHI
PHI Protected Health Information: What Counts and What Doesn't
A front-desk employee at a pediatric clinic in Texas mentioned a patient's diagnosis to the child's school counselor over the phone.
HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules
HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules: What Actually Gets Enforced
A $4.75 Million Wake-Up Call Nobody Expected In 2022, a single stolen laptop cost a health system millions. Not because the laptop was valuable
PHI and HIPAA
PHI and HIPAA: What Every Healthcare Worker Must Know
A front-desk employee at a small cardiology practice in Arizona forwarded a patient's lab results to the wrong email address. One mistake. One
HIPAA Training Materials
HIPAA Training Materials: What Actually Works in 2026
A cardiologist's office in New York paid $100,000 to settle with OCR after a single employee left PHI visible on a computer
HIPAA Policy
Sample HIPAA Policy: What to Include and What to Skip
That 47-Page Policy Binder Gathering Dust on Your Shelf? OCR Doesn't Care About It Either. I once reviewed a sample HIPAA policy packet
HIPAA Compliance
HIIPA Compliant? Fix the Spelling, Then Fix Your Program
You Searched "HIIPA Compliant" — Here's Why That Matters More Than You Think I see it in emails from clinic managers, in