Civil and Criminal Enforcement of HIPAA Privacy and Security Regs on the Rise
Attorney George F. Indest III, The Health Law Firm
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the federal organization responsible for investigating complaints and enforcing the Privacy and Security Regulations implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly referred to as “HIPAA.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be leveling off and more employees are going back to the office, and into the field, HIPAA complaint investigations will definitely pick up. Furthermore, criminal prosecutions for violations of HIPAA have recently been on the rise as well.
OCR’s Investigations and Enforcement Actions.
OCR enforces the HIPAA Privacy and Security Regulations in several ways:
The first method it has is the receiving and investigating of HIPAA violation […]