Compliance & Legal

The breach at the health plan, which affected 10.4 million people, was the second largest to hit healthcare at the time. Five years later, Premera is making the second-biggest payment ever to settle a HIPAA case.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may follow through on threats to revoke federal Medicare funding for hospitals that don't meet COVID-19 patient data requirements, reported NPR this week.

CHSPSC, a Tennessee-based management company that provides IT and services to providers indirectly owned by Community Health Systems, agreed this week to settle for potential HIPAA violations.

OCR announced five more enforcement actions this week under the HIPAA Right of Access Initiative, which supports patients' ability to access their medical records.

HIMSS Senior Director of Federal and State Affairs Jeff Coughlin joins the editors for a wide-ranging discussion of the new rules.

With compliance requirements for ONC's info blocking rule just around the corner, a poll from Pew Charitable Trusts finds a big appetite for patient access, and widespread support for providers to do better information sharing between EHR systems. 

The stakeholder coalition warned of the potential consequences if telehealth is not safeguarded before the public health emergency ends.

Its recommendations include lifting limitations on originating sites, allowing telehealth for various types of conditions and reinstating the HIPAA provisions temporarily lifted during the public health emergency.

Attorneys from Davis Wright Tremaine LLP have put together a resource to help providers navigate the requirements of ONC's 21st Century Cures regs as the Nov. 2 due date approaches.

According to the plaintiff's lawyer, HealthAlliance Hospital's Broadway campus directed her to the vendor when she asked for electronic copies of his patient records.