Home Health & Hospice Week

Do you think you’ll get a pass on producing requested patient records timely due to COVID? Think again. During the pandemic, HHS Office for Civil Rights enforcement has been relatively quiet, with one exception — HIPAA Right of Access enforcement. Five recent settlements bring the total amount to 25 cases in two years.

Since OCR announced its Right of Access Initiative in September 2019, the agency has been on campaign to ensure patients’ timely access to their records. In fact, the majority of OCR’s enforcement actions since the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) have been for HIPAA Right of Access-related violations.

Now, OCR has announced five new settlements ranging from $10,000 to $160,000 for Right of Access violations. The cases showcase OCR’s continued willingness to bring penalties against both small, sole providers and large organizations.

For example: Advanced Spine & Pain Management, operating in Cincinnati and Springboro, Ohio, offers chronic pain services to its patients. ASPM settled a potential November 2019 violation for $32,150 with OCR; the complainant did not receive his PHI until March 19, 2020. The firm will adhere to a CAP and two years of OCR monitoring.

Reminder: Once a covered entity (CE) receives a request from a patient for a copy of their PHI, the CE has 30 days to fulfill that request.