Category Archives: Health Information

HHS Office for Civil Rights Posts HIPAA Security Rule Security Incident Procedures

Every October, in recognition of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the federal government and its partners work to educate stakeholders on cybersecurity awareness and how best to protect the privacy and security of confidential data. Within the health care industry, the HIPAA Security Rule applies to covered entities and their business associates (“regulated entities”) and electronic protected health information (ePHI).  Because ePHI identifies individuals and includes information relating to an individual’s health,… More

Federalism Rankles National Privacy Debate: California Weighs in on the proposed American Data Protection and Privacy Act

As states have continued to debate and pass new comprehensive privacy statutes – such as those in Virginia and Colorado – a common refrain from business leaders is the need for a comprehensive federal privacy statute that will lessen the need to comply with a patchwork of state laws.  Indeed, the absence of serious privacy protections at the federal level – something akin to PIPEDA in Canada or the GDPR in Europe – has long spurred states to act as online data gathering and brokering has grown and advanced well beyond what most extant federal law contemplates. … More

HHS OCR Issues Guidance on HIPAA, COVID-19 Vaccinations, and the Workplace

On September 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance to help the public understand when the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule applies to disclosures and requests for information about whether a person has received a COVID-19 vaccine.

The guidance reminds the public that the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not apply to employers or employment records.… More

Fifth Circuit Addresses Scope of “Use” Under Federal Identity Theft Statute

You may have forgotten that there is a federal criminal identity theft statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1028A, which says:

Whoever, during and in relation to any felony violation enumerated in subsection (c), knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such felony, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 2 years.

Section 1028A is not frequently invoked,… More

Proposed Amendments to HIPAA Regulations to “Empower Patients, Improve Coordinated Care, and Reduce Regulatory Burdens”

Nearly 20 years to the day after the first HIPAA privacy regulations were announced, HHS has posted proposed revisions to HIPAA, evidence that even after twenty years, HIPAA privacy remains a work in progress. These proposed revisions are styled by HHS OCR as an attempt “to support individuals’ engagement in their care, remove barriers to coordinated care, and reduce regulatory burdens on the health care industry.”… More

CISA Issues Ransomware Alert for Activity Targeting the Healthcare and Public Health Sectors

On October 28, 2020, a joint cybersecurity advisory was coauthored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This advisory describes the tactics, techniques, and procedures used by cybercriminals against targets in the healthcare and public health sectors to infect their systems with Ryuk ransomware for financial gain.

CISA,… More

Privacy and COVID-19 Contact Tracing – Lessons from South Korea?

Very interesting discussion in the most recent Journal of the American Medical Association, “Information Technology–Based Tracing Strategy in Response to COVID-19 in South Korea—Privacy Controversies.”

The sources of information are staggering in their breadth:  mobile phone carriers, immigration services, law enforcement, credit card companies, public transit companies, government agencies, health insurers and health care providers.  It is difficult to imagine this type of tracing in the United States.… More