It's interesting that enforcement seems to have so minimal thus far. That said, with all the money that was pumped into HIPAA compliance back in 2001-2002, maybe it's not so surprising that there have been so few big cases. Hospital Ratings Medical Resource Group, LLC
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Re:It’s Back: HIPAA Privacy and Security Enforcem
Date: 2007/12/28 15:39
By: Normative
Status: User
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Forum Junior Resident
Posts: 6
I know everyone's appropriately concerned with not violating HIPAA regulations. But just as a reminder about HIPAA penalties [42 USC 1320d-6 (HIPAA Sec. 1177)]:
b. Penalties.— A person described in subsection (a) shall— 1. be fined not more than $50,000, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both; 2. if the offense is committed under false pretenses, be fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both; and 3. if the offense is committed with intent to sell, transfer, or use individually identifiable health information for commercial advantage, personal gain, or malicious harm, be fined not more than $250,000, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both."
that's scary enough!
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Re:It’s Back: HIPAA Privacy and Security Enforcem
Date: 2007/12/29 13:20
By: Naoum
Status: Admin
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Admin
Posts: 33
Well, here's a high-profile potential HIPAA violation playing out in real time!
In the recent tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo, the two survivors have been named by hospital and law enforcement agencies, and a description of their wounds had been made public, even though permission had not been given to release this information (from "Foxreno" website):
The brothers remain at San Francisco General Hospital recovering from severe bite and claw wounds. Their names were provided by hospital and law enforcement sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the family had not yet given permission to release their names.Hospital Ratings Medical Resource Group, LLC
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Re:It’s Back: HIPAA Privacy and Security Enforcem
Date: 2007/12/29 23:15
By: Normative
Status: User
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Forum Junior Resident
Posts: 6
Seems like this might a different situation - with an open crime investigation. Does the right to a public trial trump HIPAA rights?
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Re:It’s Back: HIPAA Privacy and Security Enforcem
Date: 2007/12/31 14:28
By: ohiomd
Status: User
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Forum Head Nurse
Posts: 53
That is a good question about the rights of a public trial. My understanding is that any valid evidence should be included in a trial but that records are sealed. Why were the records not sealed in this case?
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Re:It’s Back: HIPAA Privacy and Security Enforcem
Date: 2007/12/31 17:54
By: utcom
Status: User
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Forum Attending
Posts: 48
I think the press has access to public records before they are sealed, apparently the records were not sealed in this case (at that point).
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