An individual’s right to access their protected health information (PHI) should be nothing new to covered entities. In 1996, HIPAA Privacy Rule detailed an individual’s right to access PHI. As…
Jumpstart Your Compliance Program
The beginning of the New Year is a popular time for new initiatives. Many healthcare organizations are looking for ways to improve quality and reduce risk. A compliance program is…
EEOC Guidance to Healthcare Providers Regarding Patients with HIV
On December 1, 2015 (World AIDS day) the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued the following two separate fact sheets addressing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protections for…
Deadline for Breach Reporting Coming Soon
As the end of the year approaches, keep in mind that all breaches of unsecured protected health information involving less than 500 individuals must be reported to the Secretary at…
OIG WORKPLAN 2016
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is responsible for protecting the integrity of the programs in Health and Human Services against fraud, waste and abuse as well as recommending…
Overview of a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA)
Health care fraud recoveries for fiscal years 2009- 2014 exceeded previous records with five straight years of more than $2 billion in annual recovery from cases involving fraud and false…
Are You Prepared for the HIPAA Phase 2 Audits?
After reviewing the HIPAA Privacy case investigations from 2009-2011, the Office of the Inspector General sent a strong message to the Office of Civil Rights in regard to the administration…
Do You Meet the Security Rule Requirements for a Covered Entity?
Covered entities should be aware of differences between the Privacy and Security Rule requirements regarding protected health information. One major distinction is that the HIPAA Security Rule only applies to…
Do You Meet the Privacy Rule Requirements for a Covered Entity?
Covered entities have several requirements under the Privacy Rule. The purpose of the rule is to protect and secure individually identifiable patient information and the covered provider has the ultimate…