Home Health & Hospice Week
Gov't-Run Organizations Not Immune From HIPAA
Even government entities are finding that keeping up with patient privacy laws can be a tough task. Skagit County, Washington has settled with the Department of Health and Human Services for $215,000 over potential HIPAA violations.
“This case marks the first settlement with a county government and sends a strong message about the importance of HIPAA compliance to local and county governments, regardless of size,” says Susan McAndrew, deputy director of health information privacy at the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), in a statement. “These agencies need to adopt a meaningful compliance program to ensure the privacy and security of patients’ information.”
The county came under investigation after a breach report revealed that financial receipts containing electronic protected health information (ePHI) of seven individuals were accessed by others after the ePHI had been moved to a publicly accessible server. The subsequent investigation revealed that the ePHI of 1,581 individuals was actually at risk.
To read the Resolution Agreement, visit www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/enforcement/examples/skagit-agreement.html.
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