HIPAA Compliance Insights

HIPAA Regulations

What Are the Main Areas That HIPAA Regulates?

In 2023, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) settled or imposed penalties in cases totaling over $4 million — many of which traced back to organizations

Carl B. Johnson · Jun 14, 2023

HIPAA Rules

What Are the Rules of HIPAA? A Practical Guide

In February 2023, OCR settled with a dental practice in New England for $30,000 after investigators found the organization had no written HIPAA policies,

Carl B. Johnson · Jun 14, 2023

Patient Rights

What Are the Six Patient Rights Under the Privacy Rule

In 2023, OCR settled with a dental practice in New England for $50,000 after it failed to provide a patient with a copy of

Carl B. Johnson · Jun 14, 2023

HIPAA Components

What Are the Two Key Components of HIPAA?

In 2023, OCR settled with a dental practice for $350,000 after investigators found the organization had no written policies addressing either patient privacy or

Carl B. Johnson · Jun 14, 2023

Patient Identifiers

What Are the Two Patient Identifiers for HIPAA?

In 2023, a mid-size hospital system received an OCR complaint after a front-desk employee released lab results to a caller who provided only a patient&

Carl B. Johnson · May 26, 2023

HIPAA Omnibus Rule

What Did the HIPAA Omnibus Rule Do? Key Changes

In January 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services published a final rule that fundamentally reshaped HIPAA enforcement — and many healthcare organizations are still

Carl B. Johnson · May 26, 2023

HIPAA Laws

What Do HIPAA Laws Protect? A Compliance Guide

In February 2024, OCR settled with a Louisiana medical group for $480,000 after a phishing attack exposed the protected health information of over 34,

Carl B. Johnson · May 26, 2023

PHI

What Do the Letters PHI Stand For in HIPAA?

In 2023, OCR settled with a dental practice in New England for $50,000 after an investigation revealed that front-desk staff had been disclosing patient

Carl B. Johnson · May 26, 2023

HIPAA Basics

What Does HIPAA Mean? A Compliance Expert Explains

In 2024, OCR settled a HIPAA enforcement case with Montefiore Medical Center for $4.75 million after a workforce member stole protected health information on

Carl B. Johnson · May 26, 2023

Minimum Necessary Standard

What Does It Mean to Follow the Minimum Necessary Standard

In 2022, a specialty clinic in the Midwest disclosed an entire patient record — surgical history, psychiatric notes, billing details — to an employer conducting a routine

Carl B. Johnson · May 24, 2023

HIPAA Basics

What Does the Abbreviation HIPAA Mean? Purpose Explained

In 2023, OCR settled with a health system for $1.3 million after investigators found systemic failures in safeguarding patient records — failures that traced back

Carl B. Johnson · May 24, 2023

HIPAA Security Rule

What Does the HIPAA Security Rule Establish Safeguards to Protect?

In February 2024, OCR announced a $4.75 million settlement with Montefiore Medical Center after a former employee stole electronic protected health information (ePHI) of

Carl B. Johnson · May 24, 2023