HIPAA Certification
How to Get HIPAA Certified: What It Really Means
I get this question at least twice a week: "How do I get HIPPA certified?" First, let's clear something up — it&
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OCR Enforcement
Office for Civil Rights HIPAA enforcement actions, investigations, and compliance strategies
Information Release Form
What Is an Information Release Form Under HIPAA?
A patient walks up to your front desk and asks you to fax her medical records to a personal injury attorney. Your staff member grabs
PHI
What PHI Means: A Plain-English HIPAA Guide
A front-desk receptionist at a small dermatology clinic in Connecticut texted a patient's lab results to the wrong phone number. She didn'
HIPAA Privacy Rule
What Is the Privacy Rule Responsible for Protecting?
A hospital receptionist in Texas accidentally faxed 277 patient records to a local newspaper instead of the pharmacy down the street. That single misdial triggered
HIPAA Violation Penalties
HIPPA Violation Penalties: What They Actually Cost
A 78-bed hospital in rural Oklahoma lost $4.3 million in a single afternoon. Not from a malpractice suit. Not from a billing error. From
HIPAA Compliance Meaning
HIPAA Compliance Meaning: What It Actually Requires
A $4.3 Million Wake-Up Call in the Waiting Room In 2023, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) settled with Lafourche Medical Group for
HIPAA Minimum Necessary Rule
HIPAA Minimum Necessary Rule: What You're Getting Wrong
A Receptionist, a Fax Machine, and a $4.3 Million Problem In 2014, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University paid a combined $4.8 million
Telemedicine and HIPAA
Telemedicine and HIPAA Compliance: What You Must Know
A Psychiatrist's Laptop Changed Everything In 2020, a psychiatrist in New England started seeing patients over Zoom. No Business Associate Agreement. No encryption
PHI
Is a Medical Record Number PHI? Yes — Here's Why
A front desk staffer at a mid-size orthopedic practice once told me, "It's just a number — it's not like I
Annual HIPAA Risk Assessment
Annual HIPAA Risk Assessment: What Most Orgs Get Wrong
A $4.3 Million Wake-Up Call That Started with a Missing Checkbox In 2023, Banner Health agreed to a $1.25 million settlement with OCR
HIPAA Compliant Fax
HIPAA Compliant Fax: What Actually Matters in 2026
A nurse in a busy orthopedic clinic hits "send" on a fax machine and watches the confirmation page print. The referral — packed with
HIPAA Privacy Rule
What Is the Purpose of HIPAA Privacy Rule? A Real Answer
A Nurse, a Waiting Room, and a $4.3 Million Problem In 2016, a nurse at a New York hospital mentioned a patient's