News : breach, ARRA

Breaking: HHS releases final rule on HITECH Act provisions

Health IT Law Blog — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 21:33:49 GMT

HHS has finally announced a long-awaited final rule that implements a number of provisions of the HITECH Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly known as the "Stimulus Bill," to strengthen the privacy...(read more)

Settlement of first small scale HIPAA breach announced by HHS

Health IT Law Blog — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:36:54 GMT

In a sign that HHS is serious about small data breaches, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and The Hospice of North Idaho reached a settlement agreement to resolve allegations of a 2010 breach involving 441 patient records. OCR Director Leon Rodriguez...(read more)

3.8 million record breach in South Carolina: lessons learned

Health IT Law Blog — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 21:36:02 GMT

Hackers recently infiltrated South Carolina's state tax records, absconding with the largest haul to date of Social Security numbers, credit and debit card numbers from a state agency. State officials describe how the theft was worked, and list enhanced...(read more)

HHS settlement amounts dwarfed by total costs of data breaches

Health IT Law Blog — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:15:05 GMT

A surge in data privacy breaches and the accompanying string of recent HHS enforcement actions should serve as an important reminder to healthcare providers regarding the importance of data privacy protection, and the skyrocketing costs of failures to...(read more)

OCR to release final breach notification rule in March

Health IT Law Blog — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:31:56 GMT

Via Healthcare Info Security : The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights has set a March target date for release of the long-delayed final version of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act modifications and...(read more)