Home Health & Hospice Week

Beware 'willful neglect' penalties up to $50,000 per violation now in effect. If you think HIPAA compliance doesn't need to be a priority in these hectic times, take a look at the fines associated with "willful neglect" HIPAA violations, a category that went into effect Feb. 17. Ouch: If the Department of Health and Human Services determines a willful neglect violation occurred -- which essentially means you didn't identify and try to preempt the risk -- you can get hit with fines starting at $10,000 per violation, says HIPAA compliance expert Jim Sheldon-Dean. "And that's if you correct the problem within 30 days," he adds. "If a provider takes more than 30 days to correct the violation, then the fines start at $50,000 per violation," adds Sheldon-Dean, director of compliance services for Lewis Creek Systems in Charlotte, Vt. Background: The HITECH Act implemented the heftier fines for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability [...]