Advanced Search

Home Health & Hospice Week

HIPAA:

Even CMS Accidentally Breaches Patient Privacy Sometimes

Published on Thu Oct 18, 2012

OIG investigates CMS's ability -- or lack of -- to keep benes' PHI private.Maintaining the privacy of your patient base may seem like a daunting task, but imagine keeping all 40+ million Medicare beneficiaries protected under HIPAA. Ever wonder how CMS keeps up with privacy requirements so consistently? Well, the agency makes mistakes just like you do, and is subject to the same notification regulations as your organization.Between 2009 and 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported that it had 14 breaches of protected health information (PHI) requiring notification to the 13,775 Medicare beneficiaries affected, according to an HHS Office of In-spector General report, "CMS Response to Breach-es and Medical Identity Theft," released this month.Background: The Recovery Act requires covered entities to notify any individual whose PHI has been breached. If a breach impacts 500 or more residents of a state or jurisdiction, the entity must also notify media outlets [...]
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in your eNewsletter
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs*
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more
*CEUs available with select eNewsletters.

Other Articles in this issue of

Home Health & Hospice Week

View All