What Should Happen If a Nurse Violates HIPAA? A private practice denied an individual access to his records on the basis that a portion of the individual's record was created by a physician not associated with the practice. The Notice of Enforcement Discretion only applied a cap to each violation tier. In 2017, Lifespan mentioned in a news release that someone broke into an employee vehicle and stole their work laptop. A hospital employee did not observe minimum necessary requirements when she left a telephone message with the daughter of a patient that detailed both her medical condition and treatment plan. Criminal HIPAA violations and penalties fall under three tiers: Tier 1: Deliberately obtaining and disclosing PHI without authorization up to one year in jail and a $50,000 fine Tier 2: Obtaining PHI under false pretenses up to five years in jail and a $100,000 fine OCR investigated Peachstate and uncovered multiple potential violations of the HIPAA Security Rule. Had software patches been installed on the computers the malware would not have been unable to infect the PCs. The case was settled for $1,500,000. To avoid these, a proactive approach should include a regular risk assessment and corrective action plan. The data breach investigation revealed a substandard security management process and a catalog of HIPAA Security Rule violations. OCR determined this violated the HIPAA Right of Access provision of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Hospital Revises Email Distribution as a Result of a Disclosure to Persons Without a "Need to Know" Read More, Boston Medical Center was fined for allowing an ABC film crew to record footage of patients as part of the Boston Med TV series, without first obtaining consent from patients. MIE also settled a multi-state action with state attorneys general and paid a penalty of $900,000. HMORevises Process to Obtain Valid Authorizations Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required that the private practice revise its policies and procedures regarding access requests to reflect the individual's right of access regardless of payment source. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required that the pharmacy chain implement national policies and procedures to safeguard the log books. A nurse working at a clinic in New York became one of many HIPAA violation examples when her sister-in-law's boyfriend was diagnosed with an STD (sexually transmitted disease). Read More, Hillcrest Nursing and Rehabilitation in Massachusetts received a request from a parent for her sons medical records onMarch 22, 2020, but the records were not provided until October 10, 2020. Shaila Mae. In some states, the amount of punitive damages awarded could far outweigh the maximum $1.5 million fine (per violation) that can be imposed by OCR. And when data breaches like this occur, it's usually because of a HIPAA violation. Mental Health Center Provides Access and Revises Policies and Procedures NYC Hospital Investigates Nurse for Sharing Video With The Intercept Under the revised policies and procedures, the practice may use and disclose PHI for research purposes, including recruitment, only if a valid authorization is obtained from each individual or if the covered entity obtains documentation that an alteration to or a waiver of the authorization requirement has been approved by an IRB or a Privacy Board. A radiology practice that interpreted a hospital patients imaging tests submitted a workers compensation claim to the patients employer. OCR also determined that the Center denied the complainant's request for access because her therapists believed providing the records to her would likely cause her substantial harm. It took 8 months from the date of the first request for the records to be provided. What happens if a nurse violates HIPAA? - HIPAA Guide 164.308(a)(1)(ii)(B). A settlement of $1,700,000 has been agreed upon with OCR to resolve the HIPAA violations that contributed to the cause of the breach. The hospital disciplined and retrained the employee who made the impermissible disclosure. St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center Inc. has paid OCR $387,200 to resolve potential HIPAA violations discovered during an OCR investigation of a complaint about an impermissible disclosure of PHI. Issue: Impermissible Use and Disclosure, A complainant, who was both a patient and an employee of the hospital, alleged that her protected health information (PHI) was impermissibly disclosed to her supervisor. Public Hospital Corrects Impermissible Disclosure of PHI in Response to a Subpoena HIPAA Violation Cases - Updated 2023 - HIPAA Journal OCR investigated and discovered similar privacy violations had occurred responding to patient reviews. OCR also identified issues with the notice of privacy practices and there was no HIPAA privacy officer. Pharmacy Chain Enters into Business Associate Agreement with Law Firm Since then, OCR has been cracking down on entities that have failed to provide individuals with timely access to their medical records. Unprotected storage of private health information can be an issue. Covered Entity: Pharmacies Read More, Presence Health, one of the largest healthcare networks serving residents of Illinois, has agreed to pay OCR $475,000 to settle potential HIPAA Breach Notification Rule violations. To resolve this matter, OCR also required the practice to revise its policies and operating procedures and to move medical alert stickers to the inside cover of the records. Pharmacy Chain Institutes New Safeguards for PHI in Pseudoephedrine Log Books Covered Entity: Health Plans / HMOs The OCR investigation determined 577 patients had been affected, but Sentara Hospitals refused to update its breach notice to reflect the correct number of patients affected. By 2011, the UCLA Health System would agree to pay a fine of $865,000 to settle HIPAA privacy violations at its three hospitals. RN breaches patient confidentiality policy to check work schedule 3. Documentation was uncovered that clearly showed that mobile devices were believed to represent a critical security risk, yet action was not taken to address this issue in time to prevent the data breach. Disciplinary action taken by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Read More, OCR received a complaint from a patient of Dr. Rajendra Bhayani, a Regal Park, NY-based private practitioner specializing in otolaryngology, alleging he had not provided a patient with a copy of her medical records. In the first half of 2018, more than 56% of the 4.5 billion compromised data records were from social media incidents. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required the covered entity to revise its policy. HIPAA Violation Case Settled Between Ambulance Company & OCR for $65,000. OCR received a complaint from a patient who alleged he had been denied access to his medical records. Read More, Aetna Life Insurance Company and the affiliated covered entity (Aetna) were investigated over three data breaches that exposed the ePHI of 18,489 individuals. Sentara Hospitals reported the breach to OCR as having impacted 8 individuals. Read More. In 2013 and 2015, protections on servers were accidentally removed and files containing ePHI could be accessed over the internet without the need for a username or password. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has fined New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) $2.2 million for allowing patients to be filmed for a TV show without obtaining prior permission from patients. Covered Entity: Health Care Provider / General Hospital OCR provided technical assistance and closed the case, but the records were still not provided. OCRs investigation revealed that the Center provided the complainant with an opportunity to review her medical record, including the psychotherapy notes, with her therapist, but the Center did not provide her with a copy of her records. Fired after violating a patient's privacy - Clinical Advisor Breach News The hospital asserted that the disclosures were made to avert a serious threat to health or safety; however, OCRs investigation indicated that the disclosures did not meet the Privacy Rules standard for such actions. Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Authorizations. HIPAA Journal provides the most comprehensive coverage of HIPAA news anywhere online, in addition to independent advice about HIPAA compliance and the best practices to adopt to avoid data breaches, HIPAA violations and regulatory fines. In addition, the employee who made the disclosure was counseled and given a written warning. OCR received two complaints from patients in 2019 alleging they had to wait several months to receive a copy of their medical records. New York and Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) and Columbia University (CU) will jointly pay a penalty of $4,800,000. There are four tiers of HIPAA violation penalties for nurses, ranging from unknowing violations to willful neglect of HIPAA Rules. A violation due to willful neglect which is corrected within thirty days will attract a fine of between $10,000 and $50,000. The HIPAA Right of Access violation was settled with OCR for $70,000. Resolution Agreements. The new procedures were incorporated into the standard staff privacy training, both as part of a refresher series and mandatory yearly compliance training. Issue: Access. Read More, OCR launched an investigation of University of Rochester Medical Center following receipt of two breach reports concerning lost/stolen portable devices containing ePHI a flash drive and a laptop computer. Read More, After the permanent closure of the company, paperwork containing former patients PHI was discarded by FileFax. Raleigh Orthopaedic has agreed to pay OCR $750,000 for failing to enter into a business associate agreement (BAA) with a vendor before handing over the protected health information (PHI) of 17,300 patients in 2013. OCR intervened and provided technical assistance, but it took 16 months for the records to be provided. The firewall was inactive for a period of 10 months leaving the data exposed and potentially accessible to unauthorized third parties for an unacceptable period of time. Question: Dear Nancy, Can an RN lose his or her nursing license over a HIPAA violation? Nurses may violate HIPAA if they use non-approved channels to transmit patient information. OCR confirmed that PHI had been disclosed without an authorization from the patient and that there had been no sanctions against the physician responsible, despite being warned in advance not to disclose any PHI. What Is a HIPAA Violation? | Berxi State Attorney Generals can also impose financial penalties on HIPAA-covered entities and business associates for violations of the HIPAA Rules. Covered Entity: Health Plans Issue: Access. As HIPAA violations are so severe, and may result in huge fines for Covered Entities, if . Read More, Danbury Psychiatric Consultants in Massachusetts received a request for medical records on March 24, 2020, but access to the records was refused due to an outstanding bill. Alternatively, financial penalties can be imposed if a breach of ePHI violates state laws. Contrary to the Privacy Rule protections for information sought for administrative or judicial proceedings, the hospital failed to determine that reasonable efforts had been made to insure that the individual whose PHI was being sought received notice of the request and/or failed to receive satisfactory assurance that the party seeking the information made reasonable efforts to secure a qualified protective order. Read More, The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced a new HIPAA settlement to resolve violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. November 30, 2021 - New York-based Huntington Hospital began notifying 13,000 patients of a data breach that exposed protected health information (PHI) and resulted in a former . There are four tiers of HIPAA violation penalties for nurses, ranging from unknowing violations to willful neglect of HIPAA Rules. HIPAA Lawsuits: The Vermont Supreme Court Ruling - Total HIPAA Compliance For example, any HIPAA form a patient signs needs to have a Right to Revoke clause. Among other corrective action taken to resolve this issue, the Center provided the complainant with a copy of her records. A doctor's office disclosed a patient's HIV status when the office mistakenly faxed medical records to the patient's place of employment instead of to the patient's new health care provider. HIPAA violations don't just occur when a nurse posts something of their own accord. Read More, Exposure of ePHI as a direct result of the failure to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis and a security assessment on a server prior to using it to share files containing ePHI. Read more, The dental practice with offices in Charlotte and Monroe, NC, impermissibly disclosed a patients PHI on a webpage in response to a negative online review. A mental health center did not provide a notice of privacy practices (notice) to a father or his minor daughter, a patient at the center. The containers had labels that included the PHI of patients. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required the outpatient facility to: revise its written policies and procedures regarding disclosures of PHI for research recruitment purposes to require valid written authorizations; retrain its entire staff on the new policies and procedures; log the disclosure of the patient's PHI for accounting purposes; and send the patient a letter apologizing for the impermissible disclosure. Read More, Housing Works, Inc. is a New York City-based non-profit healthcare organization that provides healthcare, homeless services, and legal aid support for people affected by HIV/AIDS. Read More, The settlement relates to the impermissible disclosure of the electronic protected health information of 2,209 patients in 2011. HHS Covered Entity: General Hospital HITECH News Covered Entity: Health Care Provider Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required this chain to revise its national policy regarding law enforcement's access to patient protected health information to comply with the Privacy Rule requirements, including that disclosures of protected health information to law enforcement only be made in response to written requests from law enforcement officials, unless state law requires otherwise. Read More, CHSPSC LLC isa Tennessee-based management companythat provides services to affiliates of Community Health Systems. Common HIPAA violations include verbal discussions of PHI in public areas of a healthcare facility, stolen laptops used in patient care, accessing PHI when the access is not directly related to or while providing care to a patient and, in this reader's case, placing a patient's healthcare document in the regular trash. To resolve this matter to the satisfaction of OCR, the hospital: retrained an entire Department with regard to the requirements of the Privacy Rule; provided additional specific training to staff members whose job duties included leaving messages for patients; and, revised the Departments patient privacy policy to clarify patient rights to accommodation of reasonable requests to receive communications of PHI by alternative means or at alternative locations.