Office for Civil Rights HIPAA enforcement actions, investigations, and compliance strategies
In 2023, OCR received over 700 large breach reports from covered entities and business associates — each one triggering federal and state notification obligations, media attention,
In February 2023, OCR settled with Banner Health for $1.25 million after a breach affecting nearly 3 million individuals — partly because the organization'
In 2023, OCR settled with Banner Health for $1.25 million after a breach affecting over 2.81 million individuals — a case that hinged on
Every week, at least one compliance officer or new hire sends me some version of the same question: where can I get HIPAA certification? The
In 2023, OCR settled with a health system for $1.3 million after investigators found the organization had failed to implement basic access controls on
In 2023, OCR settled with a healthcare analytics company for over $1.5 million after the organization shared datasets it believed were de-identified — but which
In 2023, OCR settled with a covered entity for $1.3 million after an investigation revealed the organization had misclassified certain data as non-PHI — and
In 2023, OCR settled with a dental practice for $350,000 after an investigation revealed the organization had been disclosing patient names, treatment records, and
During a 2023 OCR investigation, a mid-sized cardiology practice received a $1.5 million penalty — not because of a sophisticated cyberattack, but because staff routinely
Every year, OCR investigations reveal the same pattern: organizations that misidentify what HIPAA actually requires end up with the most damaging audit findings. One of
In 2023, OCR settled with a dental practice in New England for $50,000 after finding it had no policies implementing the Privacy Rule — despite
When OCR levies a multimillion-dollar penalty against a covered entity for failing to conduct a risk analysis, the enforcement action traces its authority back to
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