Tag Archives: Health Information

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights BULLETIN: HIPAA Privacy and Novel Coronavirus

The coronavirus and Covid-19 are impacting everything and everyone, and certainly health information privacy. Here is a useful summary of health information issues to be mindful of from HHS OCR on HIPAA privacy and the coronavirus/Covid-19. Topics covered in the bulletin include:

Sharing Patient Information
Disclosures to Family, Friends, and Others Involved in an Individual’s Care and for Notification
Disclosures to Prevent a Serious and Imminent Threat
Disclosures to the Media or Others Not Involved in the Care of the Patient/Notification

For more information on HIPAA and Public Health,… More

Medical Billing Provider and its Former CEO Settle FTC Charges That They Misled Consumers About Collection of Personal Health Data

In an age when many of us briskly scroll through website terms and conditions and check, “I agree” without thinking, how should businesses design their websites to obtain proper authorization to access users’ sensitive information? The announcement of the settlement of a pair of recent FTC complaints against PaymentsMD, a medical billing services provider and its former CEO, and the resulting settlement, provide some important guidance,… More

ONC (“Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology”) Issues Guide to Privacy and Security of Health Information

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) has issued a Guide to Privacy and Security of Health Information Guide to Privacy and Security of Health Information. The guide is targeted at smaller health care providers and their administrative staff members. The 47 pages contain five chapters:

Chapter 1: What Is Privacy & Security and Why Does It Matter?
Chapter 2: Privacy &…